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56th Congress, ) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. ( Report 
M SemML. ( __ j No. 2946. 

•to 

LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


February 22, 1901. Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed. 


Mr. Davidson, from the Committee on Railways and Canals, sub¬ 
mitted the following 

REPORT, 

[To accompany H. R. 14261.] 

The Committee on Railways and Canals, to whom was referred the 
bill (H. R. 1067) to incorporate the Lake Erie and Ohio River Ship 
Canal Company, respectfully report favorably the following bill (H. R. 
14261) in lieu thereof: 

A BILL to incorporate the Lake Erie and Ohio River Ship Canal Company, and defining the powers 

thereof. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America 
in Congress assembled, That to facilitate commerce between the Great Lakes and the 
Ohio and Mississippi rivers, George A. Kelley, B. F. Jones, Thomas P. Roberts, John 
E. Shaw, C. L. Magee, William Flinn, William M. Kennedy, Morrison Foster, 
W. L. Scaife, W. Harry Brown, D. E. Park, James H. Park, John A. Wood, Eugene 
M. O’Neill, James F. Hudson, H. J. Heinz, S. S. Marvin, D. P. Black, George H. 
Anderson, William P. Herbert, A. J. Logan, John Eaton, and F. J. Hearne, of Pitts¬ 
burg, Pennsylvania; W. S. Shallenberger, of Rochester, Pennsylvania; Joseph G. 
Butler, junior, of Youngstown, Ohio; Simon Perkins, of Sharon, Pennsylvania; J. 
R. Harrah, of Beaver, Pennsylvania, and A. B. Fleming, of Fairmont, West Virginia, 
together with such persons as may become associated with them, and their successors, 
are hereby created a body corporate under the name and style of the “Lake Erie 
and Ohio River Ship Canal Company,” and by that name, style, and title shall have 
perpetual succession, may sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, make and use a 
common seal, receive and acquire, by purchase or otherwise, real and personal prop¬ 
erty and rights of property, and may hold, use, lease, sell, mortgage, encumber, charge, 
pledge, grant, sell, assign, and convey the same, and generally have and exercise all 
the powers usually granted to or vested in corporations of the United States of America, 
and especially full powers to carry out the purposes of this Act. 

Sec. 2. That the company, in addition to the powers expressed or implied in this 
act, shall have the right of eminent domain, and all the rights of, and be invested 
with all the powers exercised by, railroad, transportation, ship canal, and water¬ 
works companies 'organized under the laws of the States of Pennsylvania and Ohio. 

Sec. 3. That the capital stock of the company shall not exceed three hundred 
thousand dollars per mile of canal proposed to be constructed, divided into shares of 
one hundred dollars each, and the bonded and other indebtedness authorized by this 
act shall not exceed three hundred thousand dollars per mile of canal proposed to be 
constructed, so that the sum total of stock issued and debt created shall not exceed 
six hundred thousand dollars per mile of canal proposed to be constructed; and the 
amount of debt created shall in no case exceed the amount of stock subscribed for 









2 


LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


and fully paid in and bona fide expended in the promotion, maintenance, and con¬ 
struction of said canals and works; and in no event shall the stock issued and debt 
created be in larger amount than may be necessary to construct, equip, maintain, and 
operate said canals and works, pursuant to and in compliance with all the provisions 
of this act; and said company is hereby authorized to issue its bonds, and the same 
shall be a first and prior lien to all other claims or demands upon the company, secured 
by a mortgage upon its property and rights of property of all kinds and descriptions, 
real, personal, and mixed, including its franchise to be a corporation. 

Sec. 4. That no dividends shall be declared or paid whereby the capital of the said 
company shall in any manner be reduced or impaired, or upon unpaid stock. 

Sec. 5. That the said company may from time to time set aside a portion of its net 
earnings to be a sinking fund l'or the redemption of its said bonds or securities, and 
may invest the same or therewith redeem the said bonds or securities, with or with¬ 
out unearned interest, at such times, in such proportion, and in such manner, by 
allotment or otherwise, as may be determined by the board of directors. 

Sec. 6. That as soon as at least five thousand dollars’ worth of stock for every mile of 
canal proposed to be constructed is subscribed and paid for in cash, the incorporators 
named herein, or a majority of them, shall call a general meeting of the shareholders, 
to be held in the city of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, for the purpose of electing a board 
of directors of said company, consisting of not less than seven of the shareholders, 
and of transacting any other business that may be done at a shareholders’ meeting; 
and notice in writing, signed by or on behalf of the incorporators, or a majority of 
them, fixing the date and place of holding the same, mailed, postage prepaid, to the 
post-office address of each shareholder not less than ten days previously to the calling 
of such meeting shall be deemed sufficient notice of such meeting. 

Sec. 7. That the directors of the said company, a majority of whom shall consti¬ 
tute a quorum, shall hold office for one year, or until their successors shall have 
been elected and qualified. They shall elect a president, secretary, and treasurer, 
and may provide for such other officers and employees as may be deemed advisable, 
and make by-laws for the control and management of the works, property, and 
business of the said company. But until the election of the first board of directors 
shall have taken place as herein provided, the incorporators herein named, or such 
of them as may have been properly designated for that purpose, shall have full 
management and control of the affairs of the company. 

Sec. 8. That the main office of the company shall be at the city of Pittsburg, in 
the State of Pennsylvania, and the annual meeting of the shareholders shall be held 
on the first Tuesday in January in each year. 

Sec. 9. That the said company shall be subject to the control of the Interstate 
Commerce Commission, the same as if it were a railway corporation, and shall make 
such sworn statements and reports as may be required by the said Commission. 

Sec. 10. That the company is hereby empowered to lay out, construct, maintain, 
and operate a canal from some point at or near Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, on the head 
waters of the Ohio River and near the junction of the Monongahela and Allegheny 
rivers; thence via the Ohio, Beaver, and Mahoning rivers, in Pennsylvania, and the 
Mahoning River, in Ohio, to a point at or near Niles, Ohio; thence northwardly 
through the State of Ohio to the most accessible harbor on Lake Erie, between the 
Pennsylvania and Ohio State line and the mouth of the Grand River, in Ohio, includ¬ 
ing said river; also a branch canal from the mouth of the Shenango River, Pennsyl¬ 
vania; thence along the Shenango River to a point at or near Greenville, Pennsyl¬ 
vania; also a branch canal from a point at or near Niles, Ohio; thence along the 
Mahoning River to a point at or near Warren, Ohio; the said main canal connecting 
the Ohio River and Lake Erie to be of such dimensions as to make and construct 
navigable channels of at least fifteen feet in depth, and having a standard cross section 
of not less than two thousand square feet of area; construct, erect, maintain, and 
operate all such locks, dams, towpaths, basins, tunnels, aqueducts, feeders to supply 
water from any lakes or rivers, reservoirs, cuttings, apparatus, appliances, and machin¬ 
ery as may be necessary for the construction and Operation of the said canals; and 
such locks on such main canals shall be not less than three hundred and forty feet 
long between quoins, forty-five feet wide between lock walls, and fifteen feet depth 
of water on miter sills; and between the Ohio River and Lake Erie the total lockage 
shall not exceed six hundred feet. 

Sec. 11. That the said conipany may enter upon and take such lands as are neces¬ 
sary and proper for the making, maintaining, and operating the canals and other 
works of the company hereby authorized; relocate, alter, move, divert, rebuild, or 
change the grade of any bridge, street, highway, turnpike, road, tramway, railroad, 
pipe line, conduit, or other avenue of transportation, either public or private, or 
any electric telegraph or telephone line, or electric wire, main, or conduit, or any 
water, gas, or steam pipe, or sewer, drain, culvert, or tunnel, the present location of 


t 


LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


3 


which may be or lie in, upon, across, under, or contiguous to the company’s intended 
canals or works, and which may obstruct, prevent, or interfere with the proper con¬ 
struction, maintenance, and operation thereof, and the lands necessary for relocating 
and moving the same; but such relocation, alteration, change, moving, or rebuilding 
shall be done with the least possible interruption to traffic and interference with the 
public convenience. 

Sec. 12. That the said company may obtain, take, and use, for the construction and 
operation of the said canals, from the rivers, lakes, brooks, streams, water courses, 
reservoirs, and other sources of water supply, sufficient water for the purposes of con¬ 
structing, maintaining, and operating and using the said canals and works hereby 
authorized; control and regulate the flood waters of the Beaver, Mahoning, French 
Creek, and Grand rivers and Sandy Creek, and Little Shenango River, by regulating 
dams, weirs, reservoirs, and impounding dams and divert, alter, or impound the waters 
of any river, stream, creek, brook, or water course, when the same is necessary to 
the making, maintaining, and operating the said canals and works hereby authorized: 
Provided , That nothing herein contained shall authorize said company to diminish 
at any time the water supply of any city, village, or town, below the reasonable 
requirements of such city, village or town, or in any manner to pollute the same. 

Sec. 13. That the said company may construct, maintain, and operate, lease, sell, 
or otherwise dispose of terminals, docks, dry docks, harbors, piers, wharves, water¬ 
works, wrecking outfits, elevators, warehouses and appurtenances, and necessary tele¬ 
graph and telephone lines along the said canals and within the right of way owned 
by the said company or connected therewith by waterways, natural or artificial; and 
may acquire or make any vessel, craft, article, patent, mechanism or appliance what¬ 
soever, and use, lease, or dispose of the same; and develop, acquire, and use, lease, or 
dispose of any motive power whatsoever in connection with or as part of the works 
herein authorized. 

Sec. 14. That the said company may take, use, occupy, and hold, but not alienate, 
so much of the public beach or beach road, or of lands covered with the waters of 
the rivers, lakes, or ponds which the said canals may traverse, cross, start from, use, 
or terminate at, as may be necessary for the wharves or other works of the company, 
and may also construct such dams, basins, reservoirs, impounding dams, and works 
as mav be necessary to improve the navigation of the said rivers and lakes, and to 
stop tiie waste of waters therefrom, and economize and utilize the same for the uses 
herein provided for. 

Sec. 15. That the company shall prepare and file with the Secretary of war, for 
his approval, the plans, locations, dimensions, and all necessary particulars of its 
canals and other works between the Ohio River and Lake Erie, and before such 
approval the construction thereof shall not be begun; and should any change be made 
in said plans during the progress of construction such changed plans shall be submit¬ 
ted to the said Secretary of War and approved by him before made: Provided , That 
before the approval of any plans or locations by the Secretary of War of said canals 
or works, the President of the United States shall appoint a board consisting of five 
competent, disinterested, expert engineers of standing and experience in the con¬ 
struction and operation of works of such general character, of whom one and not 
more than three shall be members of the Corps of Engineers of the United States 
Army, and the others from civil life, who shall within thirty days after their appoint¬ 
ment meet together and examine the original or amended plans of the said company, 
and file their report, with recommendations thereon, with the Secretary of War 
within thirty days after their first meeting; but it shall not be final or conclusive 
until it has received his written approval. In case any vacancy shall occur in said 
board the President shall fill the same. 

Second. Upon notice of the approval of the Secretary of War the company may 
forthwith begin the construction of its canals and works, or any part thereof, accord¬ 
ing to this act. . _ , . ... , 

Third. The compensation and expenses of the said board of engineers shall be 
fixed by the Secretary of War and paid by the company, and said company shall 
deposit with the Secretary of War such sum of money as he may designate and 
require for said purpose: Provided always, That nothing herein contained shall be 
construed as preventing the said board of engineers from meeting, investigating, and 
filing their recommendation after the expiration of the time herein mentioned. 

Sec. 16. That the said company, at its own expense, shall maintain on its works, 
from sunset to sunrise, during the season of navigation, such lights and signals as may 
be prescribed by the United States Light-House Board. 

Sec. 17. That if any vessel be sunk or grounded in any of the said canals or chan¬ 
nels, or approaches thereto, and if the owner or master thereof shall refuse or neglect 
to remove the same forthwith, the company may have the same removed and may 
retain possession thereof until the charges and expenses incurred necessarily in rais- 


4 


LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


ing and removing the same, together with damages for any injury to the canal or 
other works of the company, shall be paid or satisfied. 

Sec. 18. That the said company may demand, take, and recover, for its own proper 
use, for all passengers, goods, wares, merchandise, animals, and commodities, of 
whatsoever description, transported upon the said canals and works, or in vessels 
and craft using the same, such tolls as may by by-law be determined; but all tolls 
shall under similar circumstances be charged equally to all persons, vessels, and 
goods, and no rebate, reduction, drawback, or advance of any sort on such tolls shall 
ever be made, directly or indirectly. And the said tolls shall be fixed, published, 
and posted on or in every place where they are to be collected on or before the 
fifteenth day of February of each year for the ensuing year; and for that year or 
season the said tolls shall not be increased or advanced, but they may be lowered 
upon giving public notice thereof: Provided , That all rates of tolls shall first be 
approved by the Interstate Commerce Commission. 

Sec. 19. That the works herein authorized shall be lawful public works and mili¬ 
tary and post routes, which the United States may forever use for the transmission 
of dispatches, mails, troops, munitions of war, supplies, and public stores, at fair and 
reasonable rates of compensation, not exceeding that paid by private parties for the 
same service, and subject to such tolls as shall be approved by the Interstate Com¬ 
merce Commission. 

. Sec. 20. That if the construction of the canals, or some of the canals, hereby author¬ 
ized shall not have been commenced and ten per centum of the capital stock not 
have been expended thereon within five years after the passage of this act, or if the 
main canal shall not have been finished within ten years after the passage of this act, 
the franchise herein granted shall cease and be null and void; but in calculating the 
time aforesaid, delays caused by the acts of God or the common enemy shall not be 
included. 

Sec. 21. That the Government of the United States may at anv time upon thirty 
days notice assume possession, control, and ownership of the said canals and their 
appurtenances within the United States, and of all the rights and privileges there- 
belonging, aU of which shall, upon such assumption, be fully vested in the 
United States, and the United States shall thereupon pay to the said company the 
value ot the same, to be ascertained and fixed by three arbitrators, or a majority of 
them, one of whom shall be appointed by the President of the United States, another 
by the said Lake Erie and Ohio River Ship Canal Company, and the third bv the 
two arbitrators thus selected; and said arbitrators, in finding and fixing the value of 
the said canals and works so acquired by the United States, shall not consider or 
allow any value for the franchise conferred by this act, 

2 ?\ That any person, association, or corporation, municipal or otherwise, 
Ihp mi?? S i Uffer any 1 a ^l age or 1 loS 8 u to P r ?P ert y> by reason of the construction of 
lw f d c ft nal ? r „ an X of , the w™* 8 thereof, shall be entitled to all the remedies 
sustained* ° WeC ^ by ^ a "‘° ° f the State wherein said injury was suffered or loss 

is hereby*reserved 1 by ^Congre^ mend * m0<Ufy ’ ° r r6peal tWs aCt ’ 0r an - v part thereof > 

This bili authorizes certain persons to organize the Lake Erie and 
Ohio Kiver Ship Canal Company, for the purpose of constructing a 
ship canal from a point on the Ohio River at or near Pittsburg to Lake 
Erie at or near Ashtabula, Ohio. 6 

The company is given the rights and powers usually given to cor¬ 
porations engaged in interstate commerce, including the right of eminent 
domain. It is authorized to use the waters of certain streams for the 
purpose of operating its canals and works, providing it does not reduce 

reSStts pTsuch placl ’ V1 " age ’ °‘' dtj bel ° W the reasonable 
It is made liable to all persons for such damage as they may sustain 

t b , Tt 1 -° pe ?’ ty ? f construction and operation of this 

canal. It is given the right to demand and receive tolls for the use of 
its canal, but it is not permitted to give any rebate, reduction, or draw¬ 
back of any kind to any person. ’ 

its capital stock is limited to the sum of $300,000 per mile, and its 
bonds to the same amount At least $5,000 worth of stock for every 
mile ot canal proposed to be constructed must be subscribed for anil 




LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


5 * 


paid in in cash before the persons named as incorporators can complete 
the organization of the company or transact any other business.. The 
amount of debt which the company may create is limited to the amount 
of the stock subscribed for and fully paid in and actually expended in 
the promotion, construction, and maintenance of its canals and works. 

It is subject to the control of the Interstate Commerce Commission 
the same as if it were a railway corporation, and its schedule of tolls 
must be approved by that commission. 

Plans and specifications of the canal and works must be filed with 
the Secretary of War and be approved by him before the construction 
shall be commenced. 

Its canals and works are declared to be public works, and the United 
States is given the right to use the same whenever it so desires. Pro¬ 
vision is also made for the acquisition of the canals and works by the 
Government, but in making payment for the same no value shall be 
considered or allowed for the franchise conferred by this bill. 

The main canal, when constructed, will be about 122 miles in length, 
156i feet in width, and 15 feet in depth. There will be 34 locks, each 
of which will be not less than 340 feet long between quoins, 45 feet 
wide between walls, and 15 feet deep on miter sills. 

The purpose of this canal is to afford a waterway from the Ohio 
River and its tributaries to the Great Lakes. 

During the season of 1900 there were transported by rail between 
Pittsburg and the ports on Lake Erie between Cleveland and Buffalo 
about 40,000,000 tons of freight. About 9,000,000 tons of this was 
iron ore, brought by boat from the mines near Lake Superior to Lake 
Erie ports, and from there shipped by rail to the furnaces at and near 
Pittsburg. During the same season over 5,000,000 tons of coal and 
2,000,000 tons of coke were transported by rail across this portage. 
This commerce must all pay transfer and dockage charges at the lake 
ports in addition to the high rates charged by the railroads. 

A conservative estimate of the amount of traffic which would seek 
this canal at its opening for transportation annually is as follows: Iron 
ore, 9,000,000 tons; coal, 5,000,000 tons; coke, 2,000,000 tons; manu¬ 
factured products, 1,000,000 tons; limestone, lumber, building stone, 
and general merchandise, 1,500,000 tons, making a total of 18,500,000 
tons. 

It is estimated that there would be a saving of at least 75 cents on 
every ton of iron ore, cod, and coke, and a proportionate saving on 
all other freight transported by way of this route. 

Pittsburg is the center of the coal and coke producing sections of 
Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia. These commodities find a 
large and growing market in the cities on the Great Lakes. The con¬ 
struction of this canal means cheaper fuel, and thereby cheaper cost 
of living and of manufacturing in the districts connected with the 
Great Lakes. The ore from the iron mines of Wisconsin and Minne¬ 
sota must be brought to the furnaces at Pittsburg, and the food prod¬ 
ucts of the Northwest find ready market among the millions of people 
living at or near the head waters of the Ohio River and its tributaries. 
The construction of this canal means cheaper food products and cheaper 
ores to the great manufacturing districts reached by it. Every dollar 
saved in the transportation of these commodities is a benefit alike to 
the producer and the consumer. 

The feasibilit} r and practicability of this project has been thoroughly 


6 


LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


investigated by a committee of the Chamber of Commerce of the city 
of Pittsburg, and its report gives such full and complete information 
upon all the different phases of this proposition that your committee 
has thought it best to present herewith, as a part of its report, a part 
of the report prepared bv that committee. 

In view of the probability of the early construction of the Nicaragua 
Canal, the construction of a canal at this point by the Government can 
not be expected for a number of years. Private capital is willing to 
undertake this great enterprise, and there seems to be no good reason 
why it should not be given an opportunity to do so. At some future 
time, after the canal has been constructed, if the Government desires 
to assume its control and make of it a free waterway for the benefit of 
commerce, it will have the right to do so. 

The provisions of this measure create no liability whatsoever on the 
part of the Government. 

Your committee therefore recommend the passage of this substitute 
for H. R. 1067. 


REDOUT OF CONSULTING BOARD OF ENGINEERS. 


Baltimore, Md., February 18 , 1896. 

Hon. George A. Kelly, 

President Provisional Committee , Lake Erie and Ohio River Ship Canal. 

Dear Sir: The undersigned board of consulting engineers has the honor to submit 
the following report on the project for a ship canal to connect the waters of the Ohio 
River and Lake Erie: 


In company with the chairman of your engineering committee (Col. T. P. Roberts), 
the board made a thorough examination of the country traversed by the lines of sur¬ 
vey for the canal, reservoirs, and feeders, and carefullv and thoroughly investigated 
the plans and estimates for the work, which it is pleased to say exhibit to a remark¬ 
able degree the skill, intelligence, and painstaking care put into the development of 
the project by Colonel Roberts and his principal assistant engineer, Mr. George M. 
Lehman. 

The board is of the opinion that the project is feasible and financially practicable 
The details of the subject will be discussed under the following heads: 

(1) Commercial demand for a canal. 

(2) Best route for the canal. 

(3) Topography of the region traversed. 

(4) Ohio River traffic and the canal. 

(5) Dimensions of the canal. 

(6) Available water supply. 

(7) Location and dimensions of the feeder lines. 

(8) Bridges over the canal. 

(9) Estimates, etc. 


COMMERCIAL DEMAND FOR A CANAL. 

Unless it can be established beyond a doubt that there is a sufficient tonnage to 
warrant the large outlay required to build this canal, and that its economies would 
be far-reaching, there is no necessity of proceeding further in the premises Hence a 
few statistics as to its utilities are submitted to demonstrate the great need existing 
at the present time for its early completion. ® 

The rich and extensive deposits of the Gogebic, Messaba, and Vermilion ranges 
bordering Lake Superior are being rapidly developed, but their conversion intomer- 
cantffe products requires fuel, and the nearest extensive veins of coal are located on 
the tributaries of the Ohio, m Pennsylvania and West Virginia. 

Again: The manufacturers and miners of these latter districts require the aoricul- 
tural products of the great gram fields of the Northwest in exchange for the fuels 
which do not exist in those sections. s 

in'lSOO^ 015111 ^ 011 ° f the PittSburg district within a radius of 60 miles was 1,608,000 



LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


7 


This interchange of commerce is now accomplished through the instrumentality of 
10 lines of railway between Pittsburg and the lakes, requiring several transship¬ 
ments and an additional overland movement from the head of Lake Superior. 
The total cost of these roads, with their equipment, with one exception, is said to be 
$172,141,738, while the average ton mile rate on all freight on said lines is about 6.7 
mills, which is below the ton mile rate on the ore (8.85) and coal (8) to and from 
the Pittsburg district, including transfer, and yet some of these roads are being oper¬ 
ated almost continuously at a net loss on the capital invested. 

Tons. 

The total commerce on the Great Lakes for the year ending December 


31, 1889, was... 53, 424, 432 

That of the Atlantic coast was. 77,597,626 

The Pacific coast. 8, 818, 262 

Gulf of Mexico. 2, 864,956 


Of the lake traffic 54.22 per cent consisted of mineral products; 24.97 per cent was 
lumber, and 16.41 per cent agricultural, while 5.9 per cent was miscellaneous. The 
average distance carried was 566 miles, and the total ton mileage was 15,518,360,000, 
while that for all the railroads of the United States was 68,727,223,146, so that the 
business of transportation on the Great Lakes was 22.6 per cent of that of all the rail¬ 
ways for 1889. 

Carefully checked statistics of the traffic over this portage between Lake Erie and 
the Ohio River indicate a tonnage at present not less than 7,000,000 tons of iron ore, 
7,000,000 tons of coal, 2,000,000 tons of coke, 1,000,000 tons of heavy manufactured 
products, 1,500,000 tons of limestone, lumber, and general merchandise, making a 
grand total of 18,500,000 tons, so that it would be safe to base an estimate on 13,000,000 
as the probable tonnage over this much cheaper water route immediately after its 
completion, and this will form the basis of our estimate of revenue for the canal. 


The present cost of ore from Lake Superior to Ashtabula per ton is. $0. 80 

From Ashtabula to Pittsburg, including transfer and dockage charges. 1.15 


Total.. 1.95 

By canal the charges would be: 

Ashtabula to Pittsburg, via canal:.13 

Canal toll per ton (old rate by Pittsburg and Erie Canal).25 


Total.38 

Saving, $1.15 less $0.38.77 


In the same manner the tariff on coal may be reduced from the present charge of 
$1.05 to 33 cents, a saving of 72 cents per ton. Thus coal can be delivered at Chicago 
for $1.67, at Duluth for $1.50 per ton, at New York for $1.75, and at Montreal for 
$1.60, with corresponding reductions for all points reached by the lake connections. 

Applying these economies to the existing traffic and omitting the inevitable 
increase resulting from reduced cost, there would result on the ore now used in the 
Pittsburg, Mahoning, and Shenango districts and the Ohio Valley from Beaver to 
Bellaire a saving of $4,496,082, and on the return cargoes of coal $4,868,561, and of 
coke $1,414,044, or a total reduction on the price of coke, coal, and iron ore of 
$10,778,687. In addition, the canal would earn in carrying the ore for these dis¬ 
tricts, at 25 and 15 cents, respectively, $1,515,014; on the coal at 20 cents, $1,352,378, 
and on coke, $301,657, a total revenue from these few items alone of $3,169,049, being 
9.6 per cent on $33,000,000. Hence we believe there is an ample margin for large 
returns from investments in this project, and there is abundant reason, and, in fact, 
urgent necessity, for its early completion in order that the entire lake region and its 
dependent territory may receive the benefits accruing from cheaper transportation 
and maintain the large plants now in competition with more favored localities. 


The economy in— 

Six lake cities in coal alone would be.$11,852, 876 

Canal district in ore. 4,496,082 

The lake district in coke. 1,414, 044 


Total.... 17, 763, 002 


Thus the annual economy resulting from the construction this commercial highway 
would be more than half the estimated cost of the canal from these few items alone. 
For the revenues and expenses we respectfully refer to the close of this report, under 
the head of estimates. 




















8 


LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


The Best Route for the Canal. 

In projecting every line of transportation it is fundamental that the physical 
obstructions should be reduced to a minimum. Hence it becomes necessary that the 
district through which the line is to pass should be thoroughly examined as to its 
topography and resources, that the most economical, useful, and profitable route 
may be secured. 

For a waterway this route should occupy the lowest points in divides, both to avoid 
unnecessary lockage and to increase the area of the tributary watershed for the sum¬ 
mit level, as well as to accommodate the largest traffic. 

For this particular project, whereby it is proposed to connect the waters of the 
Ohio River with those of Lake Erie, it is necessary so to locate the channel as to 
afford the greatest facility to commerce, especially with reference to the time required ■ 
to traverse it, the elevations to be surmounted, and the supply of water available for 
the maximum tonnage. 

Several possible routes present themselves, to-wit: 

(1) That of the old State work known as the Beaver and Erie, or the Erie Extension 
Canal, connecting these terminals, via the Beaver and Shenango rivers and Con- 
neaut Lake, having a length of 136| miles, with 926 feet of. total lockage. There 
were 133 locks, having an average lift of about 7 feet per lock. 

(2) That from Portsmouth to Cleveland, via the Scioto, Tuscarawas, and Cuyahoga 
valleys, covering 321 miles, although this distance might be materially reduced by 
the construction of a short link from Zanesville to the Muskingum, following the 
latter river to Marietta, on the Ohio, where the elevation is 570 feet above tide. 
From Marietta terminus to Cleveland the total distance would be 246 miles, of which 
136.8 would be canal proper and the balance slack-water navigation. There would” 
be required 70 locks on the canal and 15 locks and dams on the river portion, or 85 
in all, having a total lockage of 793 feet and an average lift of 9.3 feet. 

(3) A third route is that via Sandusky and Portsmouth, covering 228.3 miles and 

crossing the divide at an elevation of 315 feet above Lake Erie and 412 feet above the 
Omo River. Total lockage 727 feet, overcome by 82 locks and 20 dams. Average 
lift about 7 feet. ' & 

(4) Still a fourth route is practicable via Toledo and Cincinnati, following the val¬ 
leys of the Maumee and Miami rivers for a distance of 249 miles and crossing the 
divide at an elevation of 374 feet above Lake Erie and of 516 feet above the^Ohio 
River, thus requiring a total lockage of 890 feet, distributed through 98 locks with an 
average lift of 9.08 feet. The summit levels on these two latter routes would each be 
24.2 miles m length, but in none of them is the trunk of the canal adapted to the 
transit of lake vessels, while the estimated traffic is limited to from two and a half to 
three millions of tons, so that they do not enter as important factors in a trunk-line 
waterway between the central basin and the seaboard. 

The route which, in our opinion, best fulfills the above conditions is that follow- 
JPS. u « ^ the Ohio River from the Davis Island Dam, 5.25 miles below the 

Smithfield Street Bridge, Pittsburg (699.2 feet above tide low water, and 702.86 pool 
level), to the slack water of the Beaver River, 23.26 miles; thence up the Beaver and 
Mahoning rivers by a slack-water system of pools and dams 46.26 miles to Niles- 
thence by canal 8.74 miles to the plateau, 900 feet above tide; thence 31.35 miles 
across this summit; thence descending to the level of the lake (572.86 feet above 
tide) in a distance ot 12.55 miles. 

Thus the total distance from the entrance to the slack-water system at Guard Lock 
No. 4, on the Beaver, to Lake Erie, at Ashtabula, is only 98.9 miles, while the lock¬ 
age is but 526 feet, and from Pittsburg Harbor to Lake Erie the distance is 122.16 
miles, and the total lockage is 548 feet. 

As the shortest air-line distance between the Ohio River and Lake Erie at anv 
point is about 84.3 miles, it will be seen that the route proposed is but 17 per cent 
longer, and that it is practically the only one possible for a'canal of the proposed 
dimensions necessary to accommodate the large tonnage now in siMit 

Thus it appears that the route is 37 milps shnrtpr them oL** 



has 

drainage 

able deductions for lockages, detentions, and reduced speed in canal portion (52 64 
miles) the passage should be made in forty hours, as against seventy-one by the Erie 
line, or eighty by the Central Ohio route, even if it were practicable to construct so 
large a trunk on the latter route. 

n ° W 1° , th e question of the traffic to be served, it is found that the tonnage 
of the Monongahe a River is within 50,000 tons of the aggregate of all the remaining 
tributaries of the Ohio River, and this fact alone would indicate that the largest inter? 
ests would be accommodated by the shortest connection from this tributary to the 


LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


9 


lakes; but when it is remembered that the largest mills and furnaces lie on or near 
the path of this projected canal, and that their tonnage aggregates many millions, it 
leaves no doubt as to this location being the proper one, both from the physical and 
commercial standpoint. 

The Topography of the Region Traversed. 

For the purpose of this report it is only necessary to consider those tributaries of 
the Ohio River which lie between it and the lake, and it is the topography of this 
district that must determine the feasibility of the canal. If there be no point in the 
divide between the lake and the river which can be fed from the drainage of more 
elevated territory, with sufficient water to provide for the contemplated tonnage, then 
the canal must be pronounced impracticable; hence the consideration of the topo¬ 
graphical features becomes fundamental and has justified the large expense and time 
devoted to the collection of all available data from surveys and records, and the con¬ 
struction of a relief map of the entire district, to determine the most feasible route. 

The elevation of the summit level is but 900 feet above tide, while many points in 
the possible available drainage district reach an elevation of 2,000 feet or over. The 
catchment basins available for water supply are large and numerous, and will be 
treated under the subdivision of water supply. 

It is a peculiar fact that the divide between the lake escarpment and the Allegheny 
and Ohio basins lies very neat the lake shore, giving but a short base to the drainage 
in that direction, and turning most of the precipitation of this district into the trib¬ 
utaries of the Ohio, which have a comparatively slight fall. The broad flat plateau 
in Ashtabula and Trumbull counties, Ohio, and Crawford and Warren counties, in 
Pennsylvania, comprising a portion of the lands known as the Western Reserve, 
renders it practicable to construct a summit level of 31.35 miles, including a reservoir 
or lake in the bed of the canal 8 miles in length. This great plain lies in the direct 
path of the canal, and is also the key point of the divide. It is flanked on the west 
by the hills inclosing the Mahoning Basin of 500 square miles, and on the east by 
Pymatuning, Mill, Conneaut. and AVatson’s basins of 199 square miles, succeeded by 
that of French Creek at a still higher level inclosing 775 square miles, while still 
farther to the east lie the Oil Creek and Allegheny basins at sufficient altitude to be 
available for water supply by- gravity, should it be required to meet the future 
demands of commerce. 

There is also an area on the south of the Pymatuning Basin that can be reached by 
a feeder of only 13 miles in length, including the drainage of the Sandy Creek and 
the Little Shenango, and inclosing an area of about 138 square miles, which can be 
used for additional supply in case of necessity. 

Ohio River Traffic and the Canal. 

From Pittsburg, Smithfield street bridge, to Davis Island Dam the distance is 5.25 
miles, and thence to the point of entering the Beaver River, 23.26 miles. Through¬ 
out this entire distance the route closely follows the river, and it has been suggested 
that the traffic might best be accommodated by a single system of improvement, which 
would reduce the cost and unite the interests of the canal and river trade. To prop¬ 
erly decide this question, a definite understanding of the latter is necessary. 

The commerce which goes down the Ohio River from Pittsburg consists chiefly of 
coal. It is carried on “boats” or “barges.” The former average 170 feet in length, 
26 feet in breadth, and 9.5 feet in depth. Their maximum draft is 8 feet, and they 
carry about 1,100 tons. The barges average 130 feet in length and 24 feet in breadth. 
They draw from 6 to 7 feet and carry from 450 to 500 tons. The freight tonnage of 
the river is divided nearly equally between these two classes of carriers. Of late 
years single vessels are always rafted together in large numbers and towed by pow¬ 
erful tugs to New Orleans or points above, as required, and when empty are towed 
back. The large fleets are finally made up below the falls at Louisville, and often 
carry 30,000 tons. This business is remunerative at the very low cost of about one- 
third of a mill per ton per mile. The volume for the entire river is enormous, 
amounting in 1894 to 7.8 million tons. The part contributed by Pittsburg is shown 
by the records at the Davis Island Dam. In 1894 46,414 tons "of freight passed up 
and 3,099,389 tons passed down. 

But the great volume of this commerce is not the only matter which demands atten¬ 
tion when considering the question of using a common route for ne'er and lake traffic. 
Although the General Government has expended over $12,000,000 in improving the 
river above Cincinnati, there are long intervals of time during which low water pre¬ 
vents navigation. In 1895 this was exceptionally true, the river being closed from 
April until November. At one time there were about 2,500 loaded vessels afloat, 


LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


aggregating 200 acres in area, and carrying 1.2 millions of tons of coal at a loss esti¬ 
mated at about $3,000 per day. The pool above the Davis Island Dam affords a com¬ 
modious harbor for lying in wait, and as soon as the needful rise occurs the entire 
fleet usually starts down the river to take advantage of it. To accommodate such 
movements, the Davis Island Lock was made 600 feet long and 110 feet wide, having 
m view to pass 1 tug and 14 barges at once. 

1 his river commerce is therefore not only very extensive, but is also subject to great 
interruption, and. it is easy to foresee the confusion which would result in a canal of 
any reasonable dimensions when a long line of lake steamers moving in one direc- 
tionen countered a coal-boat fleet hastening to the other, to take advantage of a rise 
in the river below. 


Moreover the plan of improvement of the river is in charge of the General Gov¬ 
ernment, and the work is done at its expense. In this vicinity it contemplates a 
series of locks and movable dams, affording only such depth as will accommodate 
the river craft engaged in the navigation. To increase this depth to that demanded 
by the canal traffic would wholly change the character of the constructions, and, even 
n successful, the channel would still be subject to the interference just noted. 

In fine, the nature of the traffic in river and canal is so different that different means 
ot accommodating it are demanded by economical considerations, and the board of 
consulting engineers is of opinion that it would be a mistake to adopt a common route. 
fi 16 -?*- matt . ers > therefore, to be considered here are suitable arrangements for 
admitting up-river craft bound for the lakes into the canal at or near the mouth of 
no V ® r T. Ve ! ,\ nd the question of providing good navigation for larger vessels 
from Davis Island Dam to the city. Here some dredging will be necessarv unless the 
Government plan can be modified by raising the level of the pool about 5 feet. 

of , the harbor the depth is already sufficient, but certain . 
shoals will have to be dredged unless the level of the pool can be raised above its 
he i g . ht ’ 1 ? uch a rise m water surface would be of great benefit to river navi¬ 
gation, and is well worthy of consideration by the Government engineers, to who^e 
wise plans the existence of the present harbor is due. 

Convenient admission to the canal should be provided for such craft ascending the 
river as may desire to pass to the lake. This object may most readilv be accom¬ 
plished by locking down about 12 feet near the mouth of the Beaver, and thus facili¬ 
tating a separate entrance. Such a reduction of level in the canal will materially 


g. i xi i c vyiiiu lTOvY 11110.01* COHStrUCtlOH. 0V thft (xOVPTn- 

STeet a and^ lowest l evel in the canal near the mouth of the Beaver River, is about 
estimated C0nneCtl0n b ? a sm * Ie lock having this lift is provided for in the 


Dimensions of the Canal. 

The dimensions most suitable for a new canal should be determined from a studv of 
Wo tor? e i and ext !' nt of the commerce to be accommodated, the water sunnlv avalla 


THE DEPTH. 


th^ve^eir^^be^employed^and ^onseqimiitl^vhli^htrdepth^of the°canal S * Ze 
on 4ilrS y and te canaTsSfe the mZal° tmfflcTw”^ 


average oi tons, working continuously day and night WiVhT? + r , 


LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 11 


thus accommodate ordinary lake steamers carrying cargoes of 1,200 to 2,000 tons? 
Such steamers would reduce the lockages to less than two per hour, and they could 
be easily and safely handled. Experience has shown that on the Welland Canal the 
average time of lockage is nineteen and two-tenths minutes, at the Sault Ste. Marie 
Canal about twenty minutes for single boats, on the Manchester Ship Canal nine 
minutes, and on the Monongahela River, slack-water navigation, five minutes for 
single steamers. 

Considered, therefore, simply as a matter of easy and certain canal operation and 
administration, the capacity afforded by a 15-foot depth would be sufficient, but by 
no means excessive, to meet the demands of the traffic in sight. 

The same conclusion is reached by a line of reasoning quite different. The ruling 
freights from Pittsburg will call for distribution over the entire region bordering the 
Great Lakes, and the chief return freight (iron ore) will all come from Lake Superior. 
How short-sighted, then, would be the policy of limiting the size of the canal to boats 
unsuited for long voyages and rough water, and of thus incurring the expense and 
delay of transferring cargoes when the lake is reached, to say nothing of the expense 
of constructing a special class of boats for use in the canal. It is emphatically the 
opinion of the board of consulting engineers that the canal will fail to meet the just 
expectations of its promoters unless it be constructed to accommodate vessels large 
enough to navigate the Great Lakes with profit. What is this size, therefore, becomes 
the next subject for consideration. 

The lake harbors generally have been improved to a ruling depth of 16 feet at 
mean lake level, but by reason of the frequent fluctuations in water surface most of 
the commerce has been actually carried in vessels loaded to a draft not exceeding 13 
or 14 feet. But very few vessels built before the year 1893 were over 325 feet in 
length, with 42 or 43 feet beam, and 2,000 net tons capacity; but since that date the 
new 20-21 foot channel under construction by the General Government has induced 
a considerable increase. Next season will probably see at work nearly a dozen steamers 
400 feet or more in length, and capable of carrying 6,000 net tons on 18 feet draft. 
It should be noted, however, that such vessels are to a certain extent experimental, 
their economy resulting largely from their increased speed, and that it is claimed by 
some experts that even with a 20-foot channel equal cargoes may be carried more 
cheaply by smaller steamers towing consorts. However this may be, it seems cer¬ 
tain that for many years the ordinary type of lake vessels will be able to make use 
profitably of existing depths and that a canal adapted thereto will find no lack of 
shipping for its trade. Ultimately, no doubt, its immense commerce will produce a 
special type, designed to take full advantage of the dimensions adopted for the canal, 
whatever they may be. 

In fine, then, a depth of 15 feet is believed to be the minimum which will meet the 
needs of this canal, and that it will suffice. What should be the corresponding length 
and width of locks? 

LOCK DIMENSIONS. 

In the enlarged Canadian system the length between quoins is 270 feet, the width 
between walls 45 feet, and the depth on miter sills 14 feet. A special class of whale- 
back vessels has been designed for lake navigation and for these canals, but as their 
length would exclude the larger and more profitable of the lake carriers of ordinary 
types, such locks are deemed too small for the Lake Erie and Pittsburg Canal traffic. 

In deciding upon the precise dimensions of the locks, a compromise is necessary 
to avoid, on the one hand, needless waste of water lockages, and on the other the 
exclusion of desirable freighters navigating the lakes. A length between quoins of 
340 feet and a width between walls of 45 feet, with a depth on miter sills of 15 feet, 
will accommodate nearly all the steamers now in the trade except the new 20-21 
foot channel class, which only began to make its appearance in 1893, and which is 
not well suited to inland canal navigation. The dimensions of the different vessels 
vary greatly among themselves, and in order to fix ideas as to the commercial capac¬ 
ity of such locks it will be well to select a special type. Of the 35 whalebacks on 
the lakes in 1895 about half were intended to accommodate the new Canadian canals, 
being 262 feet long, 36 feet beam, and 22 feet depth of hold. The others were larger, 
ranging from 300 to 340 feet in length. With the latter class a steamer 320 feet long 
and 42 feet beam will carry 2,200 long tons on 14 feet draft, and consorts of the same 
size will carry 2,500 tons. A steamer towing two consorts will make the round trip 
from Duluth to Ashtabula in about twelve days, carrying 7,200 long tons on 14 feet 
draft. There can be no question that locks which, like those above described, will 
accommodate such a class of vessels will meet all commercial demands, and it only 
remains to consider whether the available water supply is sufficient and whether the 
grades at critical railroad crossings conform, or can be adjusted to conform, to the 
requirements of vessels of so large dimensions. 


12 LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 

Th e volume of water required for lockage, evaporation, and leakage will be dis¬ 
cussed under its appropriate heading. The following figures are based upon an 
annual traffic requiring the passage over the summit level of 48 steamers daily for 
two hundred and twenty-five days, carrying cargoes ranging from 1,200 tons to 2,500 
tons, corresponding to a commercial demand of, say, 20,000,000 tons: 

Cubie feet. 

4« lockages (24 vessels each way), daily. 22 000 000 

Evaporation, filtration, and leakage, daily... Ig’ 000^ 000 

Total, daily.. 40> 000> 000 



mended without exhausting the full available capacity. 

Accepting, then, the conclusion that a canal of the size stated is demanded bv the 
commercial interests of the district, and that its water supply mav be provided at 
reasonable cost it remains to consider whether its construction would cause such 
interference with vested interests as to be inadmissible. The minimum clear head¬ 
way necessary at fixed bridges first calls for attention. 

CLEAR HEADWAY AT BRIDGES. 

For the whaleback type, which has been shown above to be admirably adapted to 
the commercial needs of the canal, definite information has been furnished by its 
ahnnffh Mr * A exa v nd ,f McDougall. The dimensions affecting bridge problems are 
about the same for both ot the standard sizes, viz: Depth of hold, 22 feet; height of 
S'^ * t / f irrets ab ? ve de <; k > 16 feet; height of smokestack above deck, 38 feet; height 
of mast (for carrying light) above deck, 43 feet; draft of consort, light, 3.5 feet and 

( J f s i eain ? r ’ °, feeb Botb can i° ad to 18 feet dra fh Hence when loaded to 14 feet 
draft a clear headway of say 46 feet will be required to pass the smokestack and of 

mid e L UrretS ‘ m v ast for h 2 hts can ea ‘ sil y carry an adjustable top, 

the Great Lakes*** ^ pr ° bably be arran 2 ed for lowering, as is now often done on 

• Foi l£ he ordinary class of lake steamers the ruling height is that of the pilot house 
since the smokestacks can be arranged for dropping"and the spars for lowering The 

whfoh w 1 P ,h 0t °T ab ,°™ the lisht water line for the larger cteof "tea Jera 
SH cbwi1 the canal is about 44 feet, and as these vessels light draw on an even 

about 36 U feet feet ’ ^ mmimum cleara nce for them when loaded to a 14-foot draft is 

These figures indicate that a clear headway of about 45 feet is the least that will 
admit vessels of the desired class at bridges where the traffic would be so seriouslv 

an t 6fh U i ) i ed a 'V° torbld the use of .draw openings. Where the latter are admissible 7 
and the exceptions are few, they will naturally be preferred. ’ 

w e ob fe cts P r °P° s ed, it must be practicable for the ore vessels 
‘ tbe , 1 J freights without transshipment at the furnaces, most of which are 

situated near the water level in the valleys of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers 

sfilprp4 a fn the ° f the n cana i ltself - The bridge question, therefore, must be con¬ 
sidered lor existing as well as for new structures. 

Qro U K Mo l 1 ongahela River, within a distance of 31 miles above its mouth there 

fevel^o^fu^pool^a^fow^flD? least clear 

i .i £ Pool at low water is 51 feet, but this may be reduced to about 42 lW»t 

Upon^th^IlSen h °R- riSeS ' c ° nditions her e, then, are satisfactory. 

Upon the Allegheny River, wuthin the corporate limits of the citv of Pittsburg 

4 siz S of boar^htehln enfer tfc 
the LUjven the^difflcult Sm ° keStacks to the '-el of 

b J ard . of + consulting engineers considers that a clear height of 45 feet 

ssaSSSSHSSS 






LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


13 


measured between walls, and 15 feet deep on miter sills; also that the clear headway 
at fixed bridges should not be less than 45 feet above the normal water surface. 

The cross section of the canal next claims attention. 

THE CROSS SECTION, 

The resistance to motion and consequently the speed attainable are greatly depend¬ 
ent on the cross section of waterway adopted. In order that this resistance shall not 
be materially greater than in a large expanse of water, many engineers, among them 
Professor Rankine, have considered that the width at the bottom of the canal should 
be at least twice the greatest width of the vessel; the depth 1.5 feet more than the 
draft; and the sectional area of waterway six times the greatest midship section. 

The International Inland Navigation Congress of Engineers, held at Vienna in 1886, 
considered that for principal canals of large traffic the normal transverse section of 
the waterway should be at least four times that of the largest immersed transverse 
section of the vessel, and that an increase to five times this section would be eco¬ 
nomically advantageous, both in respect to capital invested and to expenses of opera¬ 
tion and maintenance. These views were reaffirmed at the session of this congress 
held at The Hague in 1894, where it was also urged that, to favor rapid working, the 
passing of boats should be facilitated by giving for vessels of 300 tons a width of 
waterway at the bottom of 16.2 feet more than twdce the beam, with an increase of 
1.6 feet for each additional 100 tons burden. Also that for screw steamers the least 
depth between the keel and the bottom of the canal should be 1.3 for 200-ton vessels 
and 2.6 for 1,000-ton vessels. Also that for quick working the curvature in new canals 
should be limited to a radius of not less than 1,640 feet. 

These rules for dimensions of cross section conform in general to the best practice 
in ship canals abroad. 

Thus on the Terneuzen Canal, regularly used by sea-going steamers between Ghent 
and the Scheldt, below Antwerp, the transverse section of the waterway is by regu¬ 
lation 2,085 square feet, and actually is 2,420 square feet; the submerged midship 
section of the largest vessels is by regulation 659 square feet, and in practice 538 
square feet; hence the ratio between these quantities is by regulation 3.17 and in 
practice 4.5. The speed of transit, both authorized and actual, is limited to 5.4 miles 
per hour. 

The enlarged Suez Canal (bottom width 107 feet, top wddth 420 feet, depth 31 feet) 
has a transverse section of 8,240 square feet. For the largest vessels which traverse 
it, this allows a ratio of about 4.5 between the wet cross sections. When first con¬ 
structed this canal had a bottom width of 72 feet,' atop width of 190 feet, and a depth 
of 26 feet, giving a wet cross section of 4,170 square feet. Vessels drawing 24.6 feet 
were allowed to pass, having a midship section of, say, 1,000 square feet. The ratio 
between the wet sections was thus about 4.2. The maximum speed allowed was 6 
miles per hour, but the average actually attained was much less. 

The Manchester Ship Canal has a bottom width of 120 feet, atop width of 172 feet, 
and a depth of 26 feet, giving a wet cross section of 3,796 square feet, which in rock cut¬ 
ting is reduced to 3,250 square feet. For the larger class of vessels navigating this canal 
these figures indicate a ratio between the wet cross sections not varying greatly from 
4.0. The limit of speed is about 7 miles per hour. 

It is to be borne in mind that about half the route of the Lake Erie and Ohio River 
Canal lies through canalized river beds, where the waterway will be ample to admit 
of considerable speed. In the canal proper the passage of bridges and other steamers 
will probably reduce the practicable rate to not exceeding about 4 miles per hour, and 
a moderate ratio between wet sections will therefore meet all needs. The immersed 
midship section of the larger class of vessels which will navigate the canal will rarely 
exceed about 500 square feet. Adopting a ratio of 4.0 as sufficient to meet commer¬ 
cial requirements, the wet cross section of the canal proper becomes 2,000 square feet. 
With a depth of 15 feet, this corresponds nearly to a bottom width of 107 feet, a top 
width of 160 feet, and side slopes of about one on one and a half—dimensions which 
conform well to the soil and other local conditions, and to the cross section favored 
by the engineering committee (depth 15.5 feet, bottom width 102 feet, and top width 
156.25 feet), which are accordingly recommended. 

Water Supply. 

This vital point in any project for a canal having a summit level to be supplied 
with water has been investigated with a view to insure an ample supply under the 
most unfavorable conditions. 

As the flow of the stream draining the areas from which the water for the canal is 


14 LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


proposed to be obtained has not been measured by gaugings it has been necessary, 
in order to ascertain their value and capacity for canal purposes, to determine the 
relation between the rainfall on these areas and that portion of it which may be 
safely estimated as flowing off into the water courses, which, with a proper allow¬ 
ance for maintaining the stream flow below the dams, represents the quantity which 
can be impounded in reservoirs and applied to the operation of the canal. It is, 
moreover, necessary for safety that such estimates should be based on the lowest or 
least recorded annual rainfall on the areas under consideration. 

The recent very thorough and able investigation of these relations by Mr. C. C. 
Vermeule, C. E. (vol. 3, > Geological Survey of New Jersey), affords all the data 
required for a safe conclusion in this case; indeed, for a more reliable conclusion than 
could be otherwise obtained, unless the volume of flow of all the water courses drain¬ 
ing these areas had been measured during a long series of years and with the utmost 
precision. 

The areas depended upon to furnish water for the summit level of the canal embrace 
the drainage of French and Cussewago creeks, Watsons Run, Conneaut Lake, Mill 
Creek, Pymatuning Swamps, and Mosquito Creek, covering altogether not less than 
1,074 square miles. 

It is proposed to draw from the stream flow of this area about one-half its estimated 
amount between November 1 and May 1 (the season of greatest precipeation and 
least evaporation), leaving the summer flow undiminished, and improving rather 
than injuring the regimen of these streams below the dams during the winter and 
iv/rwater thus drawn off will be stored in reservoirs in the Pymatuning and 
Mill Creek basins and delivered to the canal as required during the season of naviga¬ 
tion, which is estimated to cover 225 days, or from April 15 to November 25. 

In order to determine the amount of water to be obtained under these conditions 
at all times it is necessary to ascertain the lowest recorded rainfall in these drainage 
areas, the proportion of the annual rainfall precipitated between November 1 and 
May 1, and the proportion of this precipitation flowing off into the streams during 
the same period. 

The investigations of Mr. Vermeule (before referred to) show that for verv similar 
drainage areas (drift-covered, with moderate slopes) having about the same eleva¬ 
tion and latitude, at least seven-tenths of the rainfall during these months passes off 
as stream flow. 

lowest recorded rainfall at the following stations surrounding the district cov- 
•ered by the drainage areas under discussion was as follows: 


Erie, Pa., for nineteen years. 

Franklin, Pa., for ten years. 

Freeport, Pa., for thirteen years_ 

Warren, Pa., for eight years. 

Oil City, Pa., for fourteen years_ 

Pittsburg, Pa., for twenty-four years 

Canton, Ohio, for twelve years. 

Warren, Ohio, for five years. 

Wooster, Ohio, for ten years. 

Youngstown, Ohio, for nine years .. 


Inches. 
31.94 
33. 97 
30. 66 

32. 54 
22. 80 
28.17 
31.29 

33. 21 
31.32 
26. 20 


' Mean 


30. 21 


The board has based this investigation on the lowest of these records, that of Oil 
'City for 1888, giving a precipitation of 22.80 inches only, the average at that station 
for fourteen years being 40 inches. 

R may be well also to state that the past year (1895) was considered throughout 

89 ?r?oh 0f eoui ^ ry an extremely dry season, yet the total rainfall at Oil City 
was 28.82 inches, or 26 per cent greater than during 1888 y 

Under these circumstances the conclusions as to the quantity of water available 
would surely seem to be very far on the.safe side. . 

Th i e K P o r o e - ip l tatl0n ; as recorded at Oil City from November 1, 1887, to May 1 1888 
was 15.22 inches, of which 0.70, or 10.65 inches, may safely be estimated as passing 
ofl in stream flow Assuming that less than one-half this amount, or 5 inches in 

nSluon'ciibS'feet ofwSer!* 6 stora * e reserv0 * rs >'t will furnish for canal uses 11,314 

The estimated requirement for the canal’s season of navigation, including liberal 
al owances for evaporation filtration, and waste in canal, feeders, and reservoirs is 
9,189 million cubic ieet, which leaves a surplus of 2,125 cubic feet. 














LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


15 


t 

The estimate of the quantity of water required is based on the following daily con¬ 


sumption: 

Cubic feet. 

24 vessels each way, or 48 in all, awaging 1,500 tons cargo. 22, 000, 000 

Evaporation, filtration, waste on canal, reservoirs, feeders, etc., per day. 18,000,000 

Total amount required per day... 40,000, 000 


It will thus appear that without resort to any of the other readily accessible drainage 
basins referred to in this report, an ample supply can be had for at least 16,000,000 
tons of commerce per annum, and in point of fact, as it is more than probable that 
the summit level will receive water from the drainage of adjacent flat lands rather 
than lose any b^ filtration, the amount of water provided will suffice for a trade of 
20 ,000,000 tons per annum. 

Within not unreasonable distances, as heretofore stated, additional supplies of 
water can be had sufficient for any probable extension of the canal commerce in the 

future. 


Location and Dimensions of the Feeder Lines. 

The volume of water to be delivered per unit of time being fixed by the require¬ 
ments of the canal and the grade of descent being determined within narrow limits 
by the topography of the region to be traversed, it remains to choose such a form and 
such dimensions of cross section as shall give the desired discharge with a velocity 
not too great for the soil forming the bed. Adopting 2 feet per second as the maxi¬ 
mum admissible velocity and side slopes of 1 on 1$, as appropriate to the soil of the 
region in question, the remaining variables, the channel width at bottom and the 
depth, must be. determined by computation. 

Three feeder lines are to be considered. The first extends from Bemus Dam to 
Pymatuning Reservoir A, a distance of 20.3 miles, of which the last mile is constructed 
with three masonry steps to absorb an excess of 42 feet in the fall. In passing 
through Kerrtown, opposite Meadville, the water is led for a distance of 6,700 feet 
through a double masonry conduit, as being the most economical construction. In 
the rest of the artificial waterway the slope of the surface is so adjusted by the loca¬ 
tion of the line as to utilize the surplus volume of Conneaut Lake to the extent of 
about 2 feet. The surveys have demonstrated that a uniform fall of 0.6 of a foot per 
mile is practicable throughout the entire distance, and as this grade is well suited to 
the requirements it has been adopted. The service imposed on this feeder is to con¬ 
vey 40,000,000 cubic feet per day, or 463 cubic feet per second. 

The second feeder line leaves Pymatuning Reservoir D and conducts the flow to 
the valley of Mill Creek; it discharges into that stream where the slope is ample to 
carry it forward. The artificial length is 11.6 miles, and the service is to convey 
40,000,000 cubic feet per day, or 463 cubic feet per second. Here, too, the topograph¬ 
ical conditions permit a uniform slope of 0.6 of a foot per mile throughout the greater 
part of the distance, but a tunnel is necessary through a hill composed of stratified 
slate and shale with sandstone in seams. The length of the tunnel will be 22,000 
feet, and the estimates contemplate a brick lining throughout, although experience 
may prove this to be needless. At the point of discharge into Mill Creek an excess 
of fall of 22 feet is absorbed by two masonry steps. 

After following the bed of Mill Creek for 7.9 miles and passing en route two dams, 
forming small service reservoirs of great value for regulating the flow, the water 
enters the third feeder. This conducts it, still with the uniform fall of 0.6 of a foot 
per mile, to the summit level of the canal, a distance of 3.8 miles. The service 
imposed is 40,000,000 cubic feet per day, or 463 cubic feet per second. 

Summing up, then, it appears that the natural topographical features of the route 
throughout the entire length of the artificial channel, 35.7 miles, are favorable, per¬ 
mitting the use of one and the same gradient, except at the tunnel and for a short 
distance near Meadville, where for local reasons a conduit is more economical. At 
only one point will a very heavy cut (63 feet) be necessary; this occurs between 
Bemus Dam and the Pymatuning reservoirs. The total distance traversed, including 
the feeder lines and reservoirs, is 55.6 miles. 

It remains to determine the most suitable cross section of the waterway to give the 
discharge demanded by the needs of the canal under a slope of 0.000114 (fall of 0.6 
of a foot per mile). 

From the geometrical form of cross section above indicated (bottom horizontal, 
with side slopes of one on 1 on 1£) the following equations may be derived, in 
which A denotes the area of the actual water cross section; W, the horizontal bot- 





16 LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


tom width; D, the channel depth, and R, the mean radius or quotient of the area by 
the wetted perimeter, the foot in all cases being the unit: 


(1) A=WD-fl.5D 2 



Determining the numerical value of A by dividing the given discharge by the 
desired velocity, and computing the value of R by any standard formula which may 
be preferred, these expressions enable the exact corresponding depth and bottom 
width to be found; or if for special reasons it be desired to assume either a depth or 
bottom width, they give, by the method of successive approximation, the correspond¬ 
ing values of the other and of the area of cross section. 

For determining the quantity R for small streams like these feeders, the Ganguiller 
and Kutter formula is generally preferred by engineers, as being based on the largest 
collection of actual observations. The board has checked its indications by those 
given by other formulas of good repute, and believes that any errors in the figures 
adopted lie upon the safe side. 

The feeders excavated in earth between the Bemus Dam, the Pvmatuning reser¬ 
voirs, and the summit level will first be considered. Here, as above stated, the 
required discharge is estimated at 40,000,000 cubic feet per day, or 463 cubic feet per 
second, the uniform slope being 0.000114. Economy of construction calls for the 
largest admissible velocity, as this corresponds to the smallest area of cross section. 
Adopting 2 feet per second as the maximum which can safely be permitted in a 
geological formation like that traversed here, the corresponding area of cross section 
^ • ** square * ee h With the given slope, a velocity of 2 feet, and N assumed' 
at 0.025, the Ganguiller and Kutter formula indicates 5.3 as the value of the mean 
radius. Solving formulas (1) and (2) with these values of A and R and imaginary 
value of D indicates that no dimensions can be given to a channel of the adopted 
form which will enable it to carry the water with the desired velocity, but that it 
will so nearly accomplish the result that an increase of 2.5 feet in the area of cross 
section only is required. Making this change, the depth called for is 10.5 feet and 
the bottom width 6.6 feet, dimensions corresponding to the minimum excavation 
possible with the slope and form of cross section adopted. Further details are given 
bbe , table below > which also contains the figures computed for an assumed depth 
ot 6.5 feet, often used in such cases. Other solutions might be multiplied' indefi- 
mteiy by assuming the discharge and any desired depth, or the discharge and any 
desired bottom width, and computing the corresponding values of the other variables. 

I he following table contains the detailed results of the computations indicated 
above, the slope being in all cases 0.000114 and the quantity N being 0.025: 


Conditions, feeders in 
earth. 


V=2.0 D=6.5 

AV=463 AV=463 


Area of cross section 

Depth.. 

Width at bottom 

Width at top. 

Wet perimeter. 

Mean velocity. 

Discharge. 


foot-seconds.. 
.do... 


square feet. 


feet.. 
do... 
.do... 
.do... 


234.7 
10.5 
6.6 
38.1 
44.4 
2.0 
469.0 


252.0 

6.5 

29.0 

48.5 

52.4 

'1.85 

466.0 

























LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 17 


horizontal bottom width at 8.5 feet, the width at top at 38.5 feet and the wetted peri¬ 
meter at 44.5, giving a mean velocity of 1.98 feet per second and a discharge of 465 
cubic feet. 

AVhere a more shallow channel is preferable, the figures given in the second column 
of the table may be adopted to advantage. 

Whichever section be used, any desired safety coefficient may be applied by slightly 
increasing the bottom width, but for the reasons above stated, such a coefficient is 
believed to be unnecessary in the present case. 

As already stated, it has been found expedient to replace the open feeder by a t cov¬ 
ered conduit for a distance of 6,700 feet nearly opposite Meadville. The water will 
flow through two equal channels, each 8 feet wide by 6.6 feet deep, measured to the 
springing lines of the arches. A fall of 4.752 feet per mile has been allowed, which 
will give to a volume of water filling the dimensions above indicated a velocity of 
4.75 feet per second. The joint discharge will thus be 502 feet per second N in the 
formula being assumed at 0.015. As the normal flow will be only 463 feet, this pro¬ 
vision is considered ample. 

At the tunnel between the Pymatuning reservoirs and Mill Creek the water will 
flow through a channel lined with brick 12 feet wide at bottom and 8.75 feet deep, 
measured from the springing line of a flat arch at top. If a lining be found unneces¬ 
sary the excavation left in rough will be not less than 14 feet wide and 10 feet deep. 
The slope will be 4.752 feet per mile, or 0.0009. The lined tunnel below the spring¬ 
ing lines when full will have an area of cross section of 105 square feet, and the com¬ 
puted velocity of flow (N being 0.017) will be 6.11 feet per second, giving a discharge 
of 641 cubic feet. The service demanded being 463 cubic feet, this will give a large 
safety coefficient, but under the circumstances it is not deemed excessive. 

The topography of the district near the summit level favors the most advantageous 
delivery of water to the canal. The natural inflow has place at the northern 
terminus', near the head of the flight of locks conducting to Lake Erie, where the 
demand will be greatest, and where a sensible lowering of the canal surface would 
occur if the volume had to be drawn from a point farther south. The three lower 
reservoirs on Mill Creek also assist at this critical locality by affording a reserve 
supply at an intermediate point of the flight. 

Similar favorable conditions exist at the southern terminus of the summit level, 
where the lake formed by the dam near the mouth of Mosquito Creek tends to main¬ 
tain the level when drawn upon by the locks below. 

At first sight the long tunnel through the rocky hill near Pymatuning Reservoir I) 
might seem to be a serious drawback, but when it is remembered that a large supply 
of riprap will be required at the reservoir dams in the close vicinity, even this con¬ 
siderable outlay is seen to involve compensating advantages. 

In fine, there is every reason for congratulation that the natural supply of water, 
including the feeder connections, conforms so well to the demands of the canal. 

Bridges over the Canal. 

The region between the Ohio. River and Lake Erie, traversed by the projected 
canal, forms part of the broad belt through which passes much of the enormous 
passenger travel and freight traffic carried by rail between the East and the West. 
The engineers of the canal have been alive to the importance of avoiding interference 
with these interests, and have adjusted the water levels and located the line with a 
view to dispense with draw openings wherever practicable. Indeed, the estimates 
have been increased more than one and a half million dollars to accomplish this 
object; and, as will appear below, remarkable success has been attained. 

The line of the canal between the Ohio River and Lake Erie is crossed by 80 bridges, 
of which 59 are highway and 21 are railway. Adopting 45 feet as the minimum clear 
headway needful to avoid a draw opening, 41 highway and 12 railway bridges are 
carried overhead, and thus in no way interfere with the traffic by rail, leaving only 
18 highway and 9 railway bridges where draws are probably unavoidable. 

There can be little objection to a draw on any of the 18 highway bridges under 
consideration, leaving only 9 railway draw crossings to be considered. Of these, only 
3 are of serious importance, and one or two of them may perhaps be eliminated, as 
will appear from the following analysis of the traffic concerned: 

Thirteen railroads operate in the region in question, but as one of them, the Erie 
and Pittsburg, only uses the tracks of another road from Pittsburg to Newcastle and 
then diverges from the route of the canal, it may be disregarded. The remaining 
twelve are the following: 

(1) The Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and Chicago. 

(2) The Pittsburg, Youngstown and Ashtabula. 

H. Rep. 2946-2 



18 


LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


(3) The Cleveland and Pittsburg. 

(4) The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern. 

(5) The Pittsburg and Lake Erie. 

(6) The New York, Chicago and St. Louis (Nickel Plate). 

(7) The Pittsburg and Western. 

(8) The New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio. 

(9) The Niles and New Lisbon. 

(10) The Trumbull and Mahoning. 

(11) The Newcastle and Beaver Valley. 

(12) The Beaver and Ellwood. 

Of these railroads, the four last named are short and have only a limited traffic. 
Two of them, (9) and (10), cross the canal by draws at Niles and Haselton, respec¬ 
tively, where no serious interruption of business can result, as no high speed can be 
used in this vicinity. 

The main line of (4) is fortunately free from interruption, but a local branch track 
in Ashtabula Harbor must be crossed by a draw. 

One local branch of (5) is crossed by a draw at Lowellville and another at Strath - 
ers, but no interruption of business need be feared at either locality. 

A similar unimportant crossing of a local branch of (8) occurs at Youngstown. 

Thus six of the nine railroad draw crossings are of no serious importance; it 
remains to consider the other three. 

One of them is at Rochester, where the low grade of (3) at present forbids any 
attempt at dispensing with a draw. Possibly in the future this grade may be raised, 
but in any event it should be noted that the Pennsylvania System, to which (3) 
belongs, controls another route to Alliance, crossing the canal by a high bridge, and 
thus has one unobstructed line for its Pittsburg and Western traffic. 

The other two important draws are at Niles, where (2) and (7) are thus crossed. 
This locality is extremely difficult, and has received the most careful study. It is 
not impossible that the crossing of (7) may be avoided either by raising the present 
bridge and changing the grade of the road accordingly, or by raising the grade and 
using the existing high bridge of (8); but as such changes would involve the coop¬ 
eration of the railroad companies, it has been deemed proper to include the cost of a 
draw in the estimates. 

Summing up this review of the canal and railway crossings, it is a matter for con¬ 
gratulation that so difficult a problem has received so good a solution. The great 
through routes of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad, the Lake Shore 
and Michigan Southern Railroad, the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad 
(Nickel Plate), and the New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio Railroad are none of 
them interrupted by even a single draw crossing; and the interference with other 
important lines has either been avoided or reduced to a minimum by the careful 
studies of the engineers of the provisional committee. Their recommendations are 
heartily indorsed by the board of consulting engineers. 

Estimates of Cost. 

The estimates of cost of this work, as presented by the engineering committee, 
amounting in round numbers to $33,000,000, including the cost of electric lighting, 
have been carefully investigated in detail by the board, and are believed to be suffi¬ 
cient to accomplish the building of the canal and its accessories. 

Special attention has been given to the designs for the side walls on the Ohio divi¬ 
sion, and to those of the dams for storage reservoirs, to render them secure against 
any possible danger of failure. 

As has been already stated, the earnings of the canal for tolls on coal, coke, and 
iron ore would amount to $3,169,049 per annum. Deducting from this sum the cost 
of maintenance and operation as shown in the report of the engineering committee, 
and amounting to $250,000 per annum, there is left a net annual revenue of $2,919,049, 
which represents on the estimated capital required a return of 8.9 per cent. 

In conclusion we desire to express our appreciation of the valuable aid afforded 
us by your very able and energetic secretary, Mr. John E. Shaw, as well as by the 
members of the engineering committee. 

Respectfully submitted. 

Henry L. Abbot, 

Colonel, Corps of Engineers, Retired Brevet Brigadier-General, U. S. A., 

Lewis M. Haupt, 

Consulting Engineer, 

N. H. Hutton, C. E., 

Engineer Harbor Board of Baltimore, 

The Board of Consulting Engineers. 


LAKK ERIK AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


19 


REPORT OF ENGINEERING COMMITTEE. 

Historical. 

The growth in recent years of commerce between Lake Erie and the Upper Ohio 
Valley district, which includes eastern Ohio, West Virginia, and western Pennsyl¬ 
vania, is without a precedent in America, if not indeed in the world. The great 
staple products of this district and of articles of consumption, viz, coal, coke, iron 
ore, and limestone, are all exceedingly low-priced commodities, and are peculiarly 
sensitive to the influences of freight rates. A few cents a ton in these rates decides 
whether certain coal mines can be successfully operated or not, while sometimes it 
has been the case that a few cents a ton in the price of coke has determined the mat¬ 
ter of the closing down or continuation in operation of great furnaces and steel mills, 
furnishing employment to many thousands of men, and involving the use of many 
millions of capital. As it is now, coal transported only 100 miles at the lowest prac¬ 
ticable rail rates from the Ohio Valley suffers a tax equaling more than its original 
cost loaded in the cars. With coke this tax is about one-half, and with iron ore 
about one-third of the cost value, at the distance of 100 miles from the shipping point. 

Realizing the situation in which such vast mining and manufacturing interests are 
involved in western Pennsylvania demanding some improved means of transportation 
which could afford it rates cheaper than would be possible by railroads on a route 
to connect the Upper Ohio River with Lake Erie, where there is now an interchange 
of commerce amounting to fully 20,000,000 tons per annum, the Pennsylvania legis¬ 
lature in 1889 authorized the appointment of a commission to make a survey for a 
ship canal to connect the two systems of navigation, and appropriated the sum of 
$10,000 for said purpose. 

During 1890 these surveys were made, and the commission reported that a route 
for a canal of 15 feet depth was practicable by way of the Beaver and Shenango 
rivers to Conneaut Harbor, Ohio. The route from the Beaver via the Mahoning 
River to Ashtabula Harbor was even then known to be practicable, but as no actual 
survey of it was made at this time, its superior topographical advantages remained 
unknown. 

It is at the mouth of the Beaver River, 25 miles below Pittsburg, that the Ohio 
River approaches Lake Erie at the nearest point, and it so happens that the com¬ 
paratively narrow neck of land here separating the river from the lake can be crossed 
with a fewer number of locks, involving 180 feet less lockage, than any route to the 
West, through either Ohio or Indiana. It is along this line, also, that the greatest 
water supply is to be found, and here, too, on the shortest and cheapest route to 
construct upon is located the greatest freight-producing region in America, more 
densely populated, also, than any similar sized area in the country west of the Alle¬ 
gheny Mountains. 

Impressed with the necessity which here exists for a betterment in transportation 
facilities, in the fall of 1894 the Chamber of Commerce of Pittsburg authorized the 
appointment of a provisional committee to make further surveys to demonstrate the 
most advantageous route for a canal of a size adequate to meet the enormous demands 
of the traffic, in readiness to take advantage of its construction. The provisional 
committee was authorized to raise a fund limited to $100,000 if so much should be 
found necessary for the purpose; and in March, 1895, the committee placed a num¬ 
ber of engineering parties in the field, having at that time a fund of $28,000 in hand, 
and the sum raised and expended in the work, including the publishing of the report, 
will exceed $35,000. The committee further contemplates the organization of a cor¬ 
poration to undertake the active work of construction. In furtherance of this object, 
the proposed form of a national charter, vesting the control of tariff rates on the pro¬ 
posed canal in the National Interstate Commerce Commission, is now in the hands 
of a committee in Congress. 

The provisional committee, in addition to its own expenditures for surveys, as 
above recited, is in possession of the maps, plans, and field books of the Pennsylva¬ 
nia State canal commission, as well also of the engineering data of the small canals 
which formerly extended via the Beaver River to Lake Erie at Erie, Pa., and to 
Cleveland, Ohio. Said commission expended $10,000 appropriated by the State in 
examining a ship canal route via the Beaver and Shenango rivers to Conneaut Har¬ 
bor, on Lake Erie. To this fund of information there has been added the results of 
a number of railroad surveys, upon lines paralleling the canal line, all the way from 
Pittsburg to Lake Erie, and of other railroad surveys crossing the canal district in 
various directions; while from the reports of the Pennsylvania and Ohio State geo¬ 
logical surveys a multitude of elevations of known points above tide were obtained, 
and which assisted materially in the production of an accurate relief map which has 
been made of the entire country from Lake P>ie, between the limits of New York 


20 LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


State line, nearly to Cleveland, to the rivers from McKeesport, Pa., nearly to Wheel¬ 
ing, W. Va. The actual mileage of accurate surveys undertaken by the provisional 
committee was upward of 600 miles, while the aggregate mileage of surveyed lines 
represented on the maps of the committee are not less than 1,500 miles. 

As a result of its labors, the engineering committee believes that it is in possession 
of all the data necessary to a clear understanding of the difficulties to be encountered 
in the construction of a canal of any prescribed size which may be proposed to con¬ 
nect the Upper Ohio with Lake Erie. These surveys were conducted under Mr. 
Thomas P. Roberts, chairman of the engineering subcommittee, Mr. Roberts in 
former years having been engaged as an assistant United States engineer on various 
river and harbor improvements, member of the Pennsylvania Ship Canal Commis¬ 
sion, and is now chief engineer Monongahela Navigation Company and in charge of 
the locks and dams on that river. As chief assistant in the conduct of its surveys 
the committee appointed Mr. George M. Lehman, civil engineer, late principal 
assistant of the Delaware River and Raritan Bay Coastwise Ship Canal surveys, and 
formerly connected with the geological surveys of Pennsylvania. 

Upon the completion of the field work last fall, an advisory board of consulting 
engineers was organized by the provisional committee and fully authorized to 
examine the country and report upon the physical and commercial merits of the 
project, in the light of the surveys which had then been made. The membership 
of this board is as follows: / . * . 

Gen. H. L. Abbot, Corps of Engineers, U. S. A., retired; Prof. Lewis M. Haupt, 
C. E., of Philadelphia, and N. H. Hutton, C. E., of Baltimore. 

During the fall the advisory board traversed the country along the line of the canal, 
as projected, examined into the question of water supply, the loading and harbor, 
facilities, both upon the Ohio and at the lake end; and has since that time held a 
number of meetings in Pittsburg, going over the details of estimates, especially as 
these applied to the arrangements of bridges crossing the canal, water supply, etc.; 
every one of its suggestions having been adopted without disagreement among the 
engineers in any important particulars. 

Appended to this statement or resume is the summary of the estimates, as finally 
prepared, of the cost of a canal extending from the Davis Island or United States 
Government dam in the Ohio River, 5£ miles below the Pittsburg wharves, to Ash¬ 
tabula Harbor, Ohio, a distance of 122.16 miles. A more detailed estimate, covering 
every feature of the work on the several divisions of the canal, will be found in the 
appendix to this report. 

The final summary of the estimate in grand divisions is based upon dimensions of 
canal prism, as follows: Width at surface of water, 1561 feet; width at bottom, 102 
feet; depth, 15? feet, making a wet section of 2,001.44 square feet. The dimensions 
of locks are as follows: Length between gate quoins, 340 feet; width between walls, 
45 feet; depth provided for on miter sills in lock chambers, 15 feet. 


Ohio River division.. $8,139, 379 

Beaver and Mahoning River division. 8,092, 762 

Mosquito Creek, Summit, and Lake Erie divisions. 10, 689, 242 

Feeders, reservoirs, etc. 3,033, 713 


Total. 29,955,096 

Adding 10 per cent for contingencies... 2,995, 509 


Grand total. 32, 950, 605 


Included in the estimate is a system of arc-light illumination of the entire length 
of the canal, buildings for employees, etc. 

The Ohio Rivek Terminal. 

The harbor at Pittsburg, between dams on the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, 
respectively, to the Government dam at Davis Island, is about 6£ miles in length, aver¬ 
aging more than 1,100 feet wide, and includes an area of more than 2,000 acres. In 
this extensive harbor and\ in the pools above it on the Monongahela River as many 
as 2,500 loaded craft have been accumulated at one time. The creation of this mag¬ 
nificent harbor by the construction by the Government of the Davis Island Dam, 
which maintains perennial navigation on this portion of the Ohio, has furnished the 
chief incentive for the extension of a navigable outlet to the lakes. Belonging to the 
port of Pittsburg there is a greater tonnage in vessels—very largely coal flats, boats, 
and barges—than is registered at any port or harbor in the world. 

A description of the navigable waters of the Monongahela River through the heart 
of the coal fields of southwestern Pennsylvania to the even more extensive coal fields 
of West Virginia will be found in the appendix. 











LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 21 


Description of Canal by Divisions. 

First. Ohio River division: Davis Island Dam to the Beaver River at New Brighton. 
(Length of division, 23.26 miles.)—The canal as projected will follow the right bank 
of the Ohio 20 miles to the mouth of the Beaver, thence 3 miles along the left bank of 
the Beaver, entering that stream at New Brighton where the canalized river section 
of the canal begins. From the pool of the Pittsburg Harbor at Davis Island Dam 
the canal is entered through a guard lock. Elevation of harbor pool and canal level, 
703 feet above mean tide. Thence to the mouth of the Beaver the canal prism is 
separated from the Ohio River by a wall aggregating in length about two-thirds of 
the distance, and upon the remaining third the canal is carried through bottom 
lands. The general course of the canal along the Ohio River is between the tracks 
of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad and the river. A canal separate 
from the river is recommended because of the serious difficulties which would be met 
with in the attempt to maintain on the Ohio a system of dams affording the depth 
recommended for the canal. 

Near the town of Freedom, 2 miles above Rochester at the mouth of the Beaver, 
the first lift lock occurs, involving a descent of 12 feet (for vessels bound toward 
Lake Erie). While it was found to be possible to maintain the Pittsburg Harbor 
level in the canal through to the Beaver at New Brighton, but owing to the arrange¬ 
ment of the railroad bridge at the mouth of the Beaver, and the low elevation of 
certain streets in Rochester, it was finally determined to include in the estimate a 
lock at Freedom, which in turn involves the necessity for another lock, also esti¬ 
mated for, ascending of the same lift, and which second lock is located some distance 
above the aforesaid low streets and railroad bridge. 

At the mouth of the Beaver a connection with the Ohio River Pool No. 6 (of the 
series of dams now under construction on the Ohio River) is provided for by means 
of a special lock, the canal level at this point being 22 feet above said river pool level. 
With this arrangement it will not be necessary for vessels seeking the canal from lower 
river ports to go to Pittsburg to enter it. In the first 5 miles of the canal in the Bea¬ 
ver Valley there is a population of 40,000, centered in a number of manufacturing 
towns, chief of which are Beaver Falls, Rochester, and New Brighton. 

Beaver and Mahoning River division. (Length, 46.26 miles.)—This division consists 
of a series of pools or levels maintained in the Beaver and Mahoning rivers by means 
of dams provided with locks of various lifts best adapted to the varying height of the 
river banks. It is not contemplated to construct any dams raising the surface of the 
streams materially higher than the elevation of the pools of the dams now existing 
in the stream. Regulating devices are provided for by which the pools can be par¬ 
tially lowered in times of freshets, which are usually short-lived in these streams. 
Where the dams fail to furnish the requisite depth, the estimates provide for excava¬ 
tion of a channel width at bottom of 150 feet on the Beaver and the same on the 
Mahoning. The Beaver River averages fully 450 to 500 feet in width; the Mahoning 
about 300 feet, so that a greater speed can be maintained on this extensive division 
of the canal than elsewhere. 

With four exceptions all the railroad bridges crossing these streams can be raised 
to afford a clearance of 45 feet, which is recommended for fixed structures over the 
canal. At only two points on the entire canal, viz, at Niles, Ohio, and Rochester, 
Pa., will any important railroads cross the canal by means of drawbridges. The 
addition to the estimates to avoid the necessity of drawbridges over the canal is con¬ 
siderably more than $1,500,000, and, considering the labyrinth of railroad tracks about 
the various mills and manufacturing towns where connec ting railroad bridges are in 
existence, it is remarkable that so little interference with the usual operations over 
these structures was found to be necessary. 

The profiles and appendix of this report may be referred to for the location and lift 
of the various locks and the location and clearances of bridges over the proposed canal. 

Steam whale-back barges, having a capacity of 2,000 tons, of 22 feet molded depth 
and with 16-foot turrets (with smokestacks hinged to turn back at the height of the 
turrets), when loaded to even the medium draft of 10 feet, require only 28 feet clear¬ 
ance. As this type of vessel is eminently well adapted to the requirements of a com¬ 
bined lake, river, and canal system of navigation, they will likely be numerous on 
the canal, and thus the maneuvering of drawbridges having a clearance of 30 feet 
over the canal will be an unusual occurrence. The clearance of 45 feet for fixed 
bridges is recommended to meet important occasional demands and for the move¬ 
ment of certain kinds of war vessels. When it is borne in mind that with the early 
completion of the St. Lawrence Ship Canal this canal will furnish access from the 
seacoast to the great interior coal fields, the importance of adapting it to the occa¬ 
sional use of other types of vessels than whale-back barges manifests itself. That the 
height of 45 feet, all things considered, is the best to adopt for fixed bridges was 
agreed upon by the engineers of the canal in consultation with the advisory board, 


22 


LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


after the most careful consideration. In this investigation the advisory board was 
placed in possession of heights to various fixtures of lake vessels of the largest types. 
It must remain, however, that any vessels which can not, by removal of topmasts or 
other fixtures, pass beneath a bridge of 45 feet clearance could not take advantage of 
this canal. 

Mosquito Creek , Summit Level , and Lake Erie divisions (length, 52.64 miles).—That 
it is possible to extend a slack-water system of navigation so near to the summit level 
as to involve only four locks with an aggregate lift of 55 feet to reach it from the 
Mahoning River is a fact strikingly illustrative of the natural advantages of the 
Beaver and Mahoning River route to Lake Erie. The old Pennsylvania 50-ton boat 
canal, which formerly extended via the Beaver and Shenango rivers and Conneaut 
Lake to Erie, Pa., required 133 lift locks, whereas by the Mosquito Creek route to 
Ashtabula only 33 lift locks will be required, none of which will exceed 20 feet. 

The summit level is reached after passing up the wide, flat valley of Mosquito Creek, 
from Niles on the Mahoning, a distance of 9 miles, two locks only occurring in this 
distance, two additional locks being required at the end of the level to lift up into the 
proposed Mosquito Lake, which for nearly 8 miles forms a wide place in the naviga¬ 
tion of the summit level. The entire length of the summit level is 31.35 miles, in¬ 
cluding the lake, and it terminates near the town of Jefferson, Ohio. The general 
district of country traversed by the summit level appears to the unaided eye to be for 
the most part an absolute plain; it is only sparsely settled. The formation is soft 
glacial drifts superimposed over rock, to be found at depths varying from 10 to 50 
feet or more. In places extensive swamps exist. The water supply for this level 
will enter near its northern end where the water is most needed to meet the demands 
of the flight of locks descending to Lake Erie. The elevation of water surface in the 
canal on this level is 900 feet above mean tide, 197 feet above river level at Pittsburg, 
and 327 feet above the mean level of Lake Erie (572.82' A. T.). 

The descent from the summit level to Lake Erie, it so happens, is precisely the 
same that is found on the Welland Canal in reaching Lake Ontario from its summit, 
and in about the same distance, viz, 11 miles. On the Welland, however, 25 locks 
are employed, while on this canal, to overcome the same descent, only 17 locks are 
proposed. 

The series of locks here required may be briefly described as follows: From the 
outlet lock the first level (880 / A. T.) extends 1.1 miles to the next of the series; 
thence a level of nearly 4 miles extends to the next; thence follows a 2-mile stretch 
on the “Plymouth lever’ (84(K A. T.). Following this in the next 2 miles 11 
locks occur, 10 of them being in connected pairs laid tandem with levels of 700 feet 
intervening between pairs. The last, a single lock, or fourteenth from the summit 
level, reaching the waters of the Ashtabula River at elevation 620 / A. T. and at a 
distance of about 2 miles from the harbor entrance and 9 miles from the northern 
end of the summit level. In the next half mile in the Ashtabula River, as it is pro¬ 
posed to be canalized, 3 locks occur, the final one located about 1£ miles from the 
harbor entrance and well above existing railroad yards, docks, etc. 

Water supply , feeder lines, etc .—To meet the requirements of the canal, so far as 
regards the water supply, the present calculations provide enough for the accommo¬ 
dation of 16,000,000 tons of freight moved over the summit level in two hundred and 
twenty-five days of a canal season. This volume of business would require the pas¬ 
sage of a vessel hourly in each direction over the summit, or 48 vessels daily, of an 
average cargo capacity of 1,500 tons each. This is about the average of coal and iron- 
ore cargoes leaving and arriving at Ashtabula, but as it includes at Ashtabula a num¬ 
ber of cargoes of sailing vessels carrying less than 1,000 tons each, and as such sailing 
vessels are not well adapted for inland canals, the probabilities are that the actual 
cargoes of vessels, at least in the coal and ore trade, will considerably exceed 1,500 
tons, and that a f§wer number of lockages over the summit would suffice to do the 
business above assumed. It might happen, however, that vessels of less capacity in 
other lines of business might seek the canal, and thus sustain this daily average of 
vessels, or even cause the number of lockages here estimated for to be exceeded. 

For lockage purposes at the rate of 48 vessels daily, each vessel requiring two lock¬ 
fuls, less displacement of vessels, in locks of the dimensions as-hereinbefore given, 
it is estimated that 22,032,000 cubic feet of water would be daily required; and inclu¬ 
sive of lockages, and to provide for evaporation and leakage on the canal summit 
division, or entirely through from the Mahoning River to Lake Erie, 52.64 miles, 
and for the same kind of losses on the feeders, reservoirs, etc., a total daily supply 
of 40,000,000 cubic feet in the outstart of the operations of the canal is provided for. 
That is to say, a total of 9,000 millions of cubic feet for the canal season of two hun¬ 
dred and twenty-five days. 


LEAK ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


23 


To the east of the canal line, and mostly within the limits of the State of Pennsyl¬ 
vania, there is an area of approximately 5,000 square miles of territory higher—most 
of it hundreds of feet higher, and some of it as much as a thousand or more feet 
higher—from which, by a gravity system, water can be made to flow to the summit 
level. Of this area a portion, embracing about 1,075 square miles, is recommended 
to be actually drawn upon for water, and over which the annual average precipitation 
is about 40 inches. 

The least known rainfall over this district, if the mean record of 10 United States 
and State weather stations surrounding it be taken, is 30.21 inches. One of these 
stations, however, viz, Oil City, reported in 1888 a rainfall of only 22.80 inches; but 
the probabilities are, when considering so extensive an area as 1,075 square miles, 
that the average least rainfall of 10 surrounding stations is nearer the truth than the 
least of any one of the 10. However, as the tax upon this territory will be small, 
as will presently be shown, even 22 inches of rainfall would be enough. 

It is proposed to store approximately 4 inches of the annual precipitation over 
this 1,075 square miles, which includes 975 square miles of the valley of French Creek, 
in reservoirs. French Creek is noted as the largest low-water tributary of the Alle¬ 
gheny River. From observations and gauge records commencing as early as March, 
and measurements of this stream at intervals during the unprecedented drouth of 
1895, the engineers of the provisional committee are clearly of the opinion that 
French Creek in the very worst conceivable year discharges fully 10 inches, or one- 
third of the water falling in its basin. It is proposed to draw upon the streams in 
this district chiefly during the winter and early spring months, when they have 
invariably an abundant supply. That this draft upon them can be made without 
impairing their usual summer discharge, which should not be diverted under any cir¬ 
cumstances, admits of no serious argument. 

Careful surveys were made to obtain the storage capacity of certain reservoir sites 
which are now for the most part nearly worthless swamps, and it was learned that 
the necessary capacity was available. Contoured maps of these reservoir sites have 
been prepared and their capacity calculated for different depths. In no instance 
are dams proposed higher than would be necessary to sustain a head of 20 feet. 
The estimates for their construction are ample to provide for selected material, w^ell 
rolled in layers, furnished with central walls of puddled clay, and with their slopes 
liberally covered with broken stone, which would be at hand in great quantity from 
a feeder tunnel which must be driven through rock in the neighborhood. 

The length of feeder line from the selected point on French Creek to the Pymatu- 
ning Swamps, where the principal reservoirs would be located, is 20.3 miles, while 
from these main reservoirs to the canal line near Jefferson the distance is 23.3 miles. 
The principal reservoirs are about 120 feet in elevation above the canal summit level. 
The dimensions of feeders, tunnels, etc., are given in detail in the appendix report 
of engineering committee. 


Cost of Maintenance of the Canal. 


Careful consideration was given the subject of the cost of maintenance of the canal, 
and the conclusion was finally reached that for salaries of collectors, night and day 
forces at the locks, repairmen, maintenance of dredges, renewals of lock gates, etc., 
supervision of reservoirs, division and chief engineers, with necessary assistants, 
lighting; administration, legal and clerical; printing, and other expenses, including 
taxes, would not for a number of years to come exceed in the aggregate the sum of 
$250,000 per annum. 

It is the fact that on canals and river improvements the cost of maintenance remains 
practically the same, no matter how great the increase in the business, while upon 
railroads maintenance charges generally keep pace with the increase in the business, 
as a rule amounting to 66 per cent of the gross receipts. On this canal the cost of 
administration and maintenance, including all fixed charges, would not be more 
than 8 per cent of the gross annual receipts on the estimated volume of business the 
canal would serve, based upon receipts from ore, coal, and coke alone. 

That the traffic upon this canal, if ever it be constructed, would, with even very 
low toll rates established, provide ample interest upon the cost of its construction 
will scarcely be questioned by any who will take the trouble to investigate the fig¬ 
ures upon which the assumption is based, and which figures are set forth quite fully 
in the report of the statistical committee. 

Thomas P. Roberts, Chairman . 

John E. Shaw, Secretary, 


24 LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP (*ANAL COMPANY. 

SUMMARY OF ESTIMATE. 

Ohio River Division. 

DAVIS ISLAND DAM TO NEW BRIGHTON. 

[23.26 miles.] 

Excavation, including side cuts, wall sections, and over river 
flats: 

Earth, 6,105,600 cubic yards, at 20 cents. $1,221,120 

Rock, 114,440 cubic yards, at $1. 114,440 

-$1, 335, 560 

Wall, concrete, 1,018,660 cubic yards, at $5. 5,093, 300 

Locks (5), 1, 2,2A, B, 3 (excavation included above): 

Coping stone, 3,805 cubic yards, at $12.. 45, 660 

Facing, ashlar, 15,507 cubic yards, at $10.1*^ 155, 070 

Backing, etc., concrete, 56,377 cubic yards, at $6.' 338,262 

Timber per M, B. M., 1,912,890 cubic yards, at $30. 57, 387 

Gates, wood, iron braced.;.. 53, 254 

Machinery for operation. 59, 000 

Buildings. 10, 000 

- 718,633 

Culverts (17). 225,000 

Bridges: 

Railroad, draw 1.. 37,660 

Highway, draw 5, overhead 2... 133, 226 

,- 170,886 

Right of way, includes 350 acres at $700 and damages. 550, 000 

Electric-light plant... 46, 000 


Total.. 8,139,379 

\ • 

Beaver River and Mahoning River Divisions. 

NEW BRIGHTON, PA., TO NILES, OHIO. 

[46.26 miles.] 

Slack water. 

Excavation and dredging in river channel and across bends, 
locks included: 

Earth, 18,374,900 cubic yards, at $0.20.$3,674,980 

Rock, 856,380 cubic yards, at $1. 7 856, 380 

- $4,531,360 

Locks (11) 4 to 14, inclusive, New Brighton to Niles: 

Coping stone, 9,377 cubic yards, at $12. 112,524 

Facing, ashlar, 36,608 cubic yards, at $10. 866, 080 

Backing, etc., concrete, 129,014 cubic yards, at $6.. 774, 084 

Timber, per M. B. M., 4,181,980 cubic yards, at $30_ 125, 460 

Gates. 95,531 

Machinery for operation. 138,000 

Buildings. 27^500 

__________________ j 039 i_ yQ 

Dams (11), crib, stone filed....•. ’ 50 s’000 

Bridges: 

Railroad, draw 5, overhead 7... 615 954 

Highway, draw 10, overhead 11. 503* 229 

_ l ^gg 

Right of way, 1,620 acres, at $125. ’ 202 ’ 500 

Electric-liglit plant.92* 540 


Total 


8 , 092, 762 








































LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 25 


Mosquito Creek, Summit and Lake Erie Divisions. 


NILES, OHIO, TO ASHTABULA, OHIO. 


[52.64 miles.] 

Excavation, canal prism: 

Earth, sand, drift gravel, 15,708,025 cubic yards, at $0.18. $2, 827,445 


Rock shales, 1,484,000 cubic yards, at $0.65 .... 964, 600 


Excavations for levels between locks (lake escarpment): 

Earth, 799,200 cubic yards, at $0.18. 143, 856 

Rock, 382,450 cubic yards, at $0.65 . 248,593 

Excavation for locks: 

Earth, 1,319,675 cubic yards, at $0.18 . 237, 541 

Rock, 483,500 cubic yards, at $0.65 . 314, 275 


Locks (22) 15 to 36, inclusive, Niles to Ashtabula: 

Coping stone, 15,127 cubic yards, at $12. 181, 524 

Facing, ashlar, 82,318 cubic yards, at $10. 823,180 

Backing, etc., concrete, 304,779 cubic yards, at $6 . 1, 828, 674 

Brick arching, 3,892 cubic yards, at $7. 27, 244 

Timber, per M. B. M., 8,043,976 cubic yards, at $30 . 241, 320 

Gates. 201,891 

Operating machinery. 271, 000 

Buildings. 21, 500 


Dams: 

Mosquito Lake, rock-fill dam.. 99, 752 

Ashtabula River, crib, stone filled. 28, 041 


Bank protection, 350,000 cubic yards, at $2. 

Bridges: 

Railroad, draw 3, overhead 3. 249, 758 

Highway, draw 2, overhead 26. 766,138 


Culverts, 3,200 lineal feet, at $20. 

Right of way: 

800 feet wide, 4,300 acres, at $35. 150,500 

Mosquito Lake, 5,090 acres, at $35.. 178,150 


Electric-light plant 


$3, 792,045 


4, 736,310 
15,000 


3, 596, 333 


127, 793 
700,000 


1, 015, 896 
64, 000 


328,650 
105, 260 


Total 


10, 689, 242 


Feeder from Bemus Dam, Pennsylvania, to Canal at Jefferson, Ohio. 

[55.62 miles.] 1 
EASTERN DIVISION. 

Feeder channel, Bemus Dam to Pymatuning Reservoir, including 


conduit...miles.. 20. 32 

Distance through Pymatuning Reservoir.do... 12 


Length of division.do... 32. 32 

Excavation: 

Earth (feeder prism), 2,926,800 cubic yards, at $0.18.$526, 824 

Rock (feeder prism), 38,221 cubic yards, at $0. 65. 24, 844 

- $551,668 

Bemus Dam. 14, 722 

Culvert, Kerrtown: 

Concrete, 28,000 cubic yards, at $5 . 140, 000 

Brick arching, 2,830 cubic yards, at $7. 19, 810 

- 159,810 


Masonry, guard gates, etc., descent to Pymatuning Reservoir. 1,500 


1 Feeder proper, including culvert and tunnel, 35.72 miles. 














































26 


LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


Pymatuning reservoirs: 

Dam A... 

Dam B. 

Dam C. 

Dam D. 

E. and P. R. R. crossing—pool of Dam B. 

Road east to Linesville: 

Embankment, 297,740 cubic yards, at 20 cents. 

Masonry and guard gates where feeder leaves Section D 
Bridges: 

Highway, 12, at $2,500. 

Railroad, 2, at $4,150. 

Right of way: 

Bemus Dam. 

Bern us Dam to reservoirs, 255 acres, at $35.. 

Pymatuning reservoirs, 15,126 acres, at $10.. 


Total 


$346, 841 
124, 371 
202, 967 
62, 399 

$736, 578 
34, 550 



59,550 
1,620 

$30,000 

8, 300 

38, 300 

14, 000 

8, 925 
151, 260 

174,185 


1, 772, 483 


WESTERN DIVISION. 

Feeder channel, including tunnel, Pymatuning reservoir to Mill 

Creek reservoir No. 1.miles.. 11. 55 

Distance through reservoirs Nos. 1 and 2.do. 7. 90 

Feeder channel, Mill Cr^ek reservoir No. 2, to canal.do. 3. 85 

Length of division.do... 23. 30 

Excavation: 

Earth, feeder prism, 1,217,980 cubic yards, at 18 cents.... $219,236 
Rock, feedei prism, 92,550 cubic yards, at 65 cents. 60,157 

Tunnel: $279,393 

Rock excavation, 124,740 cubic yards, at $4. 498 960 

Brick lining, 34,205 cubic yards, at $7. 239’ 435 

Mill Creek reservoirs: 

. 23,010 

Dam ^°- 2 . 69,677 

__ 92 687 

Masonry and guard gates, descent to Mill Creek Dam No. 1. 1 2 ’ 500 

Masonry and guard gates, feeder entrance to canal o’ 000 

Bridges: ’ 

Highway, 9, at $2,500.;. 22 c 0n 

Right of way: 

Feeder channel, 140 acres, at $35. 354 900 

Dams Nos. 1 and 2, 680 acres, at $15. lo’ 200 

--- 15,100 

Total .-. 1,152,575 


AUXILIARY RESERVOIRS. 

Mill Creek reservoirs: 

Dam No. 3. 

Dam No. 4. 

Dam No. 5.' * 

Feeder connection with canal, 1.9 miles. 

Right of way: 

Reservoirs Nos. 3, 4, and 5; 370 acres, at $20. 


$25,084 
.44,144 
20, 027 


$89, 255 
12,000 

7, 400 


108, 655 


Total 

















































LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


27 


FINAL SUMMARY. 

Ohio River division.$8,139, 379 

Beaver River and Mahoning River divisions. 8, 092, 762 

Mosquito Creek, Summit, and Lake Erie divisions. 10, 689, 242 

Feeder, reservoirs, etc. 3,033, 713 

-129,955, 096 

Adding 10 per cent for contingencies. 2,995,509 


Grand total... 32, 950, 605 


REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON RAILROAD AND CANAL STATISTICS. 

The committee’s investigations have been confined to ascertaining— 

First. The volume and character of tonnage of the districts reached by the canal. 

Second. The volume and character of tonnage of the Great Lakes. 

Third. The volume and character of tonnage movement from the Great Lake dis¬ 
trict to the canal districts. 

Fourth. The volume and character of tonnage movement from the canal districts 
to the Great Lake district. 

The canal districts, relating to their manufacturing industries, a,re divided as follows: 

1 . Allegheny County, Pa. 

2 . Shenango Valley, Pa. 

3. Mahoning Valley, Ohio. 

4. Ohio Valley (mouth of Beaver River to Bellaire). 

5. Western Pennsylvania (whose tonnage movement to and from the lakes passes 
through Pittsburg). 

The canal district, relating to the production and movement of coal and coke, is 
confined to the counties bordering on the Monongahela River, and mainly the four 
counties, Allegheny, Westmoreland, Fayette, and Washington, bordering on the 
Monongahela River from the first to the fourth pool. 

The industries of districts 1 and 3 are located directly on the main canal, Pittsburg 
Harbor and canalized Monongahela River, and can be reached by any vessel that 
can navigate the canal. 

The industries of district 4 will be located on navigable water, for vessels drawing 
8 feet, passing through the main canal and lakes without breaking cargo, when the 
slackwater system of the Upper Ohio, now being carried forward by the Government, 
is extended to Bellaire, and district 2 for vessels that can navigate the full depth of 
the canal when a branch canal is extended up the Shenango River from its mouth to 
the industries in that valley. Until these improvements are made, the main canal 
will establish a lake port for district 2 at the mouth of the Shenango River, about 65 
miles nearer than at present, and for district 4 at mouth of Beaver River, about 100 
miles nearer than at present, and for district 5 at Pittsburg Harbor, about 130 miles 
nearer than at present. 

The estimate in this report of tonnage for the canal, saving on commerce and 
earnings on cost from tolls, is based on the tonnage movement of ore, coal, and coke 
alone, the movement of which is best adapted to a waterway, and which always seeks 
a waterway w r hen it is provided, leaving the vast tonnage of manufactured products, 
limestone, building stone, lumber, food products, and general merchandise to draw 
upon for additional tonnage and revenue for the canal, and also the tonnage which will 
seek this route for interchange between the Great Lake district and tributary water¬ 
ways and the districts reached by the navigable waters of the Ohio and Mississippi 
rivers. 

Population of the Canal District. 

Within a circle of 60 miles radius, with a point a few r miles north of Pittsburg as 
the center, in 1890 the population was 1,608,964 (increase in 1896 about 10 percent), 
which is a larger population than exists within the limits of a similar circle drawn 
around Chicago, Cleveland, Buffalo, St. Paul, Milwaukee, St. Louis, or Cincinnati. 

There are fourteen counties reached by the canal, the Ohio River to Wheeling and 
the M onongahela River to Lock No. 4. The population of these counties by the census 
of 1890 was approximately 1,300,000, and the average increase to 1896 would probably 
exceed 10 per cent. Their commerce is created, and the population supported mainly 
in the manufacture of iron and steel and their products, and in the production of coal 
and coke. 











28 LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


Iron Ore. 


The following are the ore shipments from Lake Superior and receipts at Lake Erie 
ports for the year 1895: 

Shipments Lake Superior ports, by lake. 10 , 242,*372 

Shipments Lake Superior ports, by rail. ’ 195 ’ 896 

Total.. 10,438,268 

Receipts Lake Erie ports. 8 112 228 

T^ e . five Lak e Erie ports from the furnaces in Allegheny County, Pa., and the 
Mahoning and Shenango Valley districts on the canal, and the Ohio Valley district 
from the Beaver River to Bellaire, and the Western Pennsylvania furnaces receiving 
the ore via Pittsburg are Cleveland, Fairport, Ashtabula, Conneaut, and Erie. 

. Tons. 

Receipts said 5 ports, 1895 . g 758 734 

Reduction stock said 5 ports, 1895.’ 459 ,’ 730 

Sent to furnaces l . .... 7 ^ 218 , 464 

Iron Ore Consumption and Pig Iron Production. 

The following table gives the pig iron produced in the canal district in 1895, from 
the report of Mr. J. M. Swank, secretary of the,American Iron and Steel Association 
and as it requires 1.6 tons of ore, 1 ton of coke, and one-third ton of limestone to make 
a ton of pig iron, the following will give the crude materials required: 


District. 


1. Allegheny County, Pa. 

2. Shenango Valley, Pa. 

3. Mahoning Valley, Ohio.‘ 

4. Ohio Valley, Beaver to Bellaire. 

5. Western Pennsylania, through Pittsburg 

Total. 


Furnaces and 
product. 

Crude materials. 

Num¬ 
ber fur¬ 
naces 
1895. 

Pig iron. 

Ore. 

Coke. 

Lime - 1 Tnt „i 

stone. total. 

27 

21 

14 

10 

ill 

2,054,585 
820,037 
620,526 
417,591 
454,773 

Tons. 
3,287,336 
1,302,059 
992,841 
668,145 
727,636 

Tons. 
2,054,585 
820,037 
620,526 
417,591 
454,773 

Tons. Tons. 

684,862 6,026,783 
273,346 2,395,442 

206,842 1 1,820,209 
139,197 1,224,933 

151,591 1,334,000 

83 

4,367,512 

6,978,017 

4,367,512 

1,455,838 12,801,367 
• 


1 Johnstown, 6; Dunbar, 2; Scottdale, 1; Emporium, 1; Kittanning, 1. 

The above table does not include four new furnaces in Allegheny County, building 
by the Carnegie Steel Coinpany^ which will be put in operation this year . 2 Their 
annual capacity will be about 700,000 tons of pig iron, and will require annuallv 

add ±VJ°’ 0 Z tOn l Ot 0re ’ 70 r 0 ’ 000 t0ns ° f cok *’ and 233,000 tons U of G lhnestone 
additional. When these new furnaces are m operation the ore requirements in 
these districts for a year like 1895 would exceed 8,000,000 tons, and therefore their 
average annual requirements for a period of years, even under present conditions of 
tl r atl ° n ’ would be not less than 7,000,000 tons. The ore required is based 

P TU h K° res of? 111 thlS dlstl 7 ct ’ whlch y ield not less than 60 per cent metallic iron 

The above 83 furnaces in the canal district are all within the limits of the circle 
above referred to, having its center a few miles north of Pittsburg, and a radius of 
60 miles. Seventy-two of the above 83 furnaces will be located on the water, and 
can be served direct with water transportation through the canal, and the other 11 
l eceiy %their ores through the canal, with possibly one exception. 

In 1895 An fgheny County made 47 per cent of all the pig iron made in the five 
districts and the firSt three dlstncts t0 £ ether m ade 80 per cent of the total for said 


°“ 1896 ’^ 7 °°> 000 'than t^we- 

2 Now completed and in operation. 





































LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 29 

Allegheny County made 52.9 per cent in 1894, and 43.8 per cent in 1895, of all the 
pig iron made in Pennsylvania, and in 1894 26.8 per cent, and in 189§ 21.8 per cent 
of all made in the United States. The first three districts together made 39 percent 
in 1894 and 37 per cent in 1895 of all made in the United States, and the five districts 
together made 46.9 per cent in 1894 and 46.2 per cent in 1895 of the total product of 
the United States, and in 1894 made 12.3 per cent of the total product of the world, 
and in 1895 made 17.2 per cent of the world’s product in 1894. 1 

The production of Allegheny County, Pa., in 1895 was 590,796 tons more than the 
entire production of the State of Ohio, and more than double the entire production 
of the State of Illinois, and almost equaled the entire production of both States. 

Coke Consumption—Lake District. 

The following are the coke furnaces located on the shores of the Great Lakes, now 
receiving their coke mainly from the Connellsville district, near Pittsburg, by rail; 
and the canal would supply all water transportation at a great saving in cost, as will 
be seen below in chapter relating to effect of canal on commerce. The production of 
pig iron and coke required is for the year 1895. Authority, Mr. J. M. Swank. 


- --- 

Districts. 

Fur¬ 

naces. 

Pig iron 
produced. 

Illinois. 

17 

1,006,091 

Wisconsin .... 

4 

102,443 

Minnesota. 

1 


Ohio. 

5 

286,861 
112 891 

New York. 

2 

Trttal. 

29 

1,508,286 



Coke required, 1,508,286 tons. 


Of the seventeen Illinois furnaces, eight are located at South Chicago, five at Chi¬ 
cago, three at Joilet, and one at Cummins. The five in Ohio are located at Cleve¬ 
land, and of the two in New York, one is located at Buffalo and one at Tonawanda. 

Coke Production. 

The following table, compiled from the weekly reports published in the American 
Manufacturer, shows the number of cars and tons of coke shipped from the Connells¬ 
ville region, (1) to points west of Pittsburg; (2) to points east of Pittsburg; (3) to 
Pittsburg, for the year 1895. The tonnage is estimated on the basis of each car 
averaging 18.2 tons: 


Shipments—1895. 

Number of 
cars. 

Tons of 
coke. 

To points west of Pittsburg. 

221,169 
85,149 
127,322 

4,025,275 
1,549,711 
2,317,260 

To points east of Pittsburg. 

To Pittsburg. 

Total. 

433,640 

17,892,246 



1 The report of the American Iron and Steel Association, by Mr. J. M. Swank, gives shipments from 
Connellsville region for 1895, 8,244,438 tons. 


There were 4,025,275 tons shipped west of Pittsburg; of this amount the require¬ 
ments of districts 2, 3, and 4 were 1,858,154 tons, leaving 2,167,121 tons to go beyond 
these districts. 

As shown above, the requirements of the 29 coke furnaces on the lakes was 1,508,286 
tons. As district 4 uses a small proportion of coke from the Upper Monongahela 
district in West Virginia, it would leave a larger amount of Connellsville coke to go 
to the lake district. The total production of the Upper Monongahela district in Weet 
Virginia in 1894 was 158,623 net tons, and the output for the entire State of West 
Virginia was 1,639,687 tons. As a large amount of coke is used for other than blast¬ 
furnace uses (in making finished iron and steel from pig iron for foundry, domestic, 
and other purposes), it is safe to estimate the annual tonnage of coke that would seek 
transportation through the canal for lake points at 2,000,000 tons. 


1 Total pig-iron production for the year 1895 was as follows: Pennsylvania, 4,701,163 
tons; United States, 9,446,308 tons; United Kingdom, 7,895,675 tons, and France, 
2,070,000 tons. 





































30 LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


The ore fields supplying the furnaces in the canal district are located on Lake 
Superior and Lake Michigan. 

The coal fields, supplying not only the furnaces of the canal district with coke, but 
the above coke furnaces on the Great Lakes, are located about 40 miles southeast of 
Pittsburg and about 10 miles from pool No. 4, on the Monongahela River. 

Prolific beds of limestone and building stone, now used in Allegheny County, She- 
nango, and Mahoning Valley districts, are located along and near the line of the canal 
in Heaver and Lawrence counties, Pa., and in Mahoning County, Ohio. 

Thecoal fields sending nearly all the coal from western Pennsylvania to both lake 
and Ohio and Mississippi River markets are located in the four counties bordering 
on the Monongahela, from pool No. 1 to pool No. 5. These counties are Allegheny, 
VV estmoreland, Washington, and Fayette. The Pittsburg coal bed lies on both sides 
ot the Monongahela River from pool No. 1 to its head waters in West Virginia. A 
more detailed description of the coal areas reached by the canal will be found in the 
appendix. 

Rolling Mills and Steel Works in the Canal District. 

The following represents the number of rolling mills and steel works in the canal 
district and their annual capacity in gross tons of product. All of these are located 
on the canal or the rivers reached through the canal, except twenty: 


District. 


Num- Annual 
ber. capacity. 


Allegheny County, Pa. 

Beaver and Shenango valleys, Pennsylvania 

Mahoning Valley, Ohio.‘. 

Ohio River (Beaver to Bellaire). 

Western Pennsylvania, outside above. 

Total. 


Gross tons' ‘ 


63 

5,226,440 

18 

572,900 

18 

984,800 

17 

1,142,414 

20 

1,323,350 

136 , 

9,249,904 


The above information was furnished partly from direct reports of the firms to the 
statistical committee (about 50 per cent of said firms having so reported) and the 
others were taken from their reports to the American Iron and Steel Association. 

.bor details renting to the production of iron and steel in the canal district see 
Appendix to the report of this committee, page 201. 


Manufacturing Industries in the Canal District. 


The manufacturing industries reporting to the Eleventh Census of the United States 
20,OOO^nd^ipvv^arck 6 ° f ^ Canal ^ adjacent thereto containing a population of 


1. Total number reporting. 

2. Capital: 

Value of hired property. 

Direct investment. 

3. Miscellaneous expenses. 

4. Average number of employees 

5. Total wages.. 

6. Cost of materials. 

7. Value of product. 


2 , 989 


$12, 354, 330 
$170, 919, 561 
$12, 485, 391 
94,131 
$54,193,107 
$124, 641,491 
$217, 284,195 


Coal Tonnage from Canal District to Lake Erie Ports. 


t Recording report of Ohio mine inspector, in 1894 there were received at 
^ Wi «nTf P 5 ’ 45 ?’ 029 D ns of bituminous CO al for transshipment by lake, of which 
3 593,805 tons came from Pennsylvania, 1,568,912 tons came from Ohio, and 289 312 
tons came from West \ irgima This is what passed through Lake Erie ports for trkns- 
portation by vessel to upper lake and Canadian ports. P 

The ^ceipts of bituminous coal at Lake Erie ports for 1894, including what passed 
SVr el shipment, as given in Coal Trade, amount to 10,245,289 tons as 
the total bituminous coal received at Lake Erie ports in 1894. Taking the total 
receipts of bituminous coal at Buffalo, Cleveland, and Toledo in 1893 as gfven in the 

torn?,?h °T f e u ^ * i 2 3 4 5 6 7 ? e<1 States > and a(idin « the bituminous coal passin* 

through Ashtabula, Lorain, Fairport, and Conneaut for 1893, as given in Coal Trade* 



























LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


31 


we have 10,394,356 tons as the total bituminous coal received at Lake Erie ports for 

1893. 

Deducting the bituminous coal which was forwarded by vessel from Lake Erie 
ports in 1894, viz, 5,452,029 tons, from the bituminous coal received at said ports in 

1894, viz, 10,245,289 tons, the balance, 4,793,260 tons, would approximately repre¬ 
sent the bituminous coal consumed at Lake Erie ports in 1894. 

As shown by the report of the Ohio mine inspector, of the total bituminous coal 
forwarded by vessel from Lake Erie ports in 1894, 66 per cent came from Pennsyl¬ 
vania, 29 per cent from Ohio, and 5 per cent from West Virginia. It is reasonable, 
therefore, to assume that of the total of said coal received at said ports in 1894, each 
of the above States would furnish a proportionate amount of same. In that event 
the amount going from said States would be as follows: 

Tons. 


Pennsylvania 

Ohio. 

West Virginia 


6, 761, 891 
2, 971,134 
512,264 


Total 


10, 245, 289 


Coal Production in Canal District. 

The total production of bituminous coal in the United States in 1893 was 128,385,231 
tons, in Pennsylvania 44,070,724 tons, and in West Virginia 10,708,578 tons. 

The productioi} in the Monongahela River counties was as follows: 

Pennsylvania Tons. 

Allegheny County. 6,663,095 

Washington County... 3, 315,146 

Westmoreland County. 7, 439, 760 

Fayette County.-. 6, 261,146 

Total. 23,679,147 

West Virginia: 

Monongalia County. 38, 600 1 

Marion County... 1,062, 334 

Total. 1,100,934 


Grand total. . 24, 780,081 

Of the production in the above four Pennsylvania counties there were: 

Tons. 

15, 538,193 
7, 275, 825 
865,129 


Total. 23,679,147 

The four Pennsylvania counties produced 53.7 per cent of the total production of 
Pennsylvania. The two West Virginia counties produced 10.3 per cent of the total 
production of West Virginia, and the six counties together produced 19.3 per cent of 
the total production of the United States. 

That this estimate of coal going from the canal district in western Pennsylvania to 
Lake Erie is amply conservative is indicated from the amount of coal carried in 1894 
by the railroads terminating at Lake Erie ports, from Cleveland to Buffalo, carrying 
through traffic between Pittsburg and said ports or connecting with other main lines 
from Pittsburg, which latter are not included to avoid duplication. The total coal 
tonnage of said railroads in 1894 was 8,129,266 tons. It is safe,, therefore, to estimate 
the existing coal tonnage going to the lakes from western Pennsylvania would annu¬ 
ally average 7,000,000 tons, without allowing for the increased tonnage that would 
result from reduced cost of transportation by having all-water route to these markets. 

Consumption of Bituminous Coal on the Great Lakes. 

Mineral Resources of the United States gives the total receipts and shipments of 
coal by lake and rail for the year 1893 at six lake cities, viz, Buffalo, Cleveland, 
Toledo, Milwaukee, Chicago, and Duluth, as follows: 

Tons. 

25,144,493- 
6, 000,992 


Loaded at mines for shipment 

Made into coke. 

Used locally at mines. 


Receipts .. 
Shipments 





























32 


LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


Deducting shipments from receipts gives consumption at said points and sent 
inland from said points: 


Tons. 

For consumption, viz. 19,143, 501 

Deduct anthracite coal from Buffalo. 2, 681,173 


Bituminous coal consumed. 16,462,328 

The above is the natural market for Monongahela River coal and Connellsville 
coke, and all that is needed to cheapen their cost in these markets is the water route 
which the proposed canal will supply. 

The relation of the proposed ship canal to this coal field is apparent. When it con¬ 
nects with the present canalized Monongahela River at Pittsburg, it will admit ves¬ 
sels to penetrate the very heart of the Pittsburg coal measures, and without breaking 
bulk transport this coal and coke, the best in the world, to every lake port, and 
when the Erie-Hudson Canal is deepened to the cities on the Atlantic coast, and so 
reduce the cost of bituminous fuel at all these points reached by it, through all-water 
transportation, that it will contribute to their great prosperity in commercial and 
manufacturing interests, which a cheap fuel supply is a potent factor in building up 
and maintaining. This illustrates not only the present but the future possibilities of 
tonnage traffic for the canal from the coal fields, and the enlarged markets that can 
be reached by this coal. 

When it is considered that the product of the mines and quarries make up 54.22 
per cent of the entire traffic of the Great Lakes, and that coal and, iron ore largely 
make up the products of the mines and quarries, and that this iron ore is at present 
largely meeting the coal and coke along the proposed pathway of this canal in- 
Allegheny County, Ohio River, Mahoning and Shenango valleys, to be manufactured 
into the finished product by a dual and costly method of transportation, the wide¬ 
spread commercial benefits of such a waterway must become apparent to any intelli¬ 
gent mind. 

Coal Markets Reached Through the Canal. 


The following table, compiled from Mineral Resources of the United States, Coal 
Trade, and Coal Statistics, gives estimates of the coal annually consumed and passing 
through the markets mentioned below to other points for consumption that could be 
reached by all-water transportation without change of bulk by Pittsburg coal and 
coke through the proposed ship canal and the Erie-Hudson Canal when improved and 
deepened to 9 feet: 


Markets. 

Anthracite 

fuel. 

Bituminous 

fuel. 

Total. 

Great Lake cities, United States. 

Canada. 

Tons. 

4,750,000 

1 1,550,000 

Tons. 

16,462,328 

1 1,500,000 
6,000,000 
5,000,000 
2,500,000 
2,400,000 

Tons. 
21,212,328 
1 3,050,000 
2 6,000,000 
15,000,000 
8,000,000 
2,800,000 

New England. 

New York. 

10,000,000 

5,500,000 

400,000 

Philadelphia. 

Baltimore. 

Total. 

22,200,000 

33,802,328 

56,062,328 



i Imported only. Total consumption of Canada about 6,000,000 tons 
- Bituminous consumption only. 


See page for price of Pittsburg coal at these points through the proposed canal. 


Commerce on Monongahela River. 


Li 1894 the coal tonnage alone passing out of the Monongahela River was 4 417 132 
tons, which does not include the railroad tonnage in coal from the vallev The ship¬ 
ments from the several pools were as follows in bushels: 


Pool No. 1 
Pool No. 2 
Pool No. 3 
Pool No. 4 
Pool No. 5 


Bushels. 
11, 677, 915 
25, 086, 000 
20, 735,500 
58, 457,000 
283,900 


Total 


116, 240, 315 


































LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 33 


In 1893 the record for the Monongahela River was 4,275,504 tons of freight, and 
the same year the combined tonnage of all the other tributaries of the Ohio River 
from Pittsburg to Cairo was 4,258,904 tons. In other words, the traffic of the Monon¬ 
gahela in that year exceeded that of all the other tributaries of the Ohio River 
combined. 

In June, 1895, there were collected in the Pittsburg Harbor 1,200,000 tons of coal, 
loaded on about 2,500 vessels, awaiting water to move down the Ohio River, the 
largest tonnage ever assembled in any harbor in the world at one time. The rise 
did not come until November 27. 

The cost of freight and vessels engaged in the service may be summarized as follows, 
according to the statement of the secretary of the Pittsburg Coal Exchange: 


2,500 vessels, average cost $900.$2, 250, 000 

Cost of coal in vessels in Pittsburg Harbor. 1,260, 000 

80 registered towing steamers in this port, average value $30,000. 2,400, 000 

20 passenger and other steamers in this port, average value $20,000 . 400, 000 


Total. 6, 310, 000 


It cost $2,000 per day to keep the tonnage afloat, and $1,000 per day interest on the 
investment; total, $3,000 per day. This tonnage was kept waiting in the Pittsburg 
Harbor for water in the Ohio River an average time of five months, or one hundred 
and fifty days, at a loss of $450,000, which is 5 per cent on $9,000,000. That is 
what this one item of commerce lost in five months in western Pennsylvania in not 
having the economy of transportation that results from continuous water movement, 
and this loss was suffered not only by the producers in Pennsylvania, but by the 
consumers in Southern markets, where the product is needed. 

On May 6, 1895, Mr. Richard A. Roberts, assisted by Maj. Thomas McGowan, sub¬ 
mitted a statement, carefully prepared, of the population and industries in the territory 
proposed to be formed into a new county on the Monongahela River, extending from 
pool No. 2, a short distance above McKeesport, to and including Luzerne Township 
in Fayette County, and to and including East Bethlehem Township in Washington 
County, near Lock No. 6 in the Monongahela River. 

The report states that in 1895 the population was estimated at 73,885. Fifty-eight 
mines, shipping by river only, put out in 1894, 104,785,000 bushels of coal, and 
28 'mines, shipping by railroad, put out about 23,000,000 bushels, making a total 
output for the district of 127,785,000 bushels, equal 4,914,807 tons of coal. In 1895 
there was a total of 48 manufacturing industries, and, taking the mining and manu¬ 
facturing interests together, there is an aggregate of 129 interests in the territory, 
which support more than 10,000 families, and on an invested capital of about 
$50,000,000. 

Notwithstanding the building of railroads on both sides of the river into the coal 
fields of the Monongahela Valley in the last fifteen years, the coal shipments by the 
Monongahela River have continuously increased, the tonnage of 1894 being the largest 
in its history, and the railroads along its banks are among the best paying rail¬ 
roads in western Pennsylvania, which goes to show that water and rail transportation 
are not hostile to each other, but each is a necessary complement to the success of the 
other; and in further proof of this fact comparison is invited to the financial returns 
of the railroads on each side of the Allegheny River, which is not an improved 
navigable stream. 

Allegheny River Commerce. 

The United States Engineers Report for 1894 gives the commercial movement in 
the Allegheny harbor at Pittsburg for the year 1892 as 953,406 tons. 

In January, 1896, Mr. T. P. Fleeson, of Tarentum, secretary of the Allegheny River 
Improvement Association, presented a statement before the River and Harbor Com¬ 
mittee, showing that the annual shipment of coal from this valley was. over 1,000,000 
tons; that the raw material delivered to manufacturers along the Allegheny River 
aggregated annually 3,242,748 tons, and the amount of finished product shipped out 
of the valley was 2,968,705 tons, the value of the annual output along the valley was 
$150,000,000, and 46,475 men were employed. 

H. Rep. 2946-3 









34 LAKE EKIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


Commerce of Ohio River. 

In 1894, 1895, and 1896 the commerce passing Davis Island Dam, 4 miles below 
Pittsburg, was as follows: 



1894. 

1895. 

1896. 

Vessels. 

Freight. 

Vessels. 

Freight. 

Vessels. 

Freight. 

Descending. 

Ascending. 

7,525 

6,595 

Tons. 
3,099,389 
46,414 

6,235 

4,688 

Tons. 

2,776,951 
31,047 

9,531 
8,452 

Tons. 

3,739,062 
72,697 

Total. 

14,120 

3,145,803 

10,923 

2,807,998 

17,983 

3,811,759 


By census of 1890 the commerce of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and tributaries 
is set forth as follows: 



Vessels. 

Freight. 

Ohio River and tributaries. r ,. 

6,255 

631 

554 

Tons. 

15,600,439 
6,373,448 
9,080,525 

Upper Mississippi, Missouri, and tributaries.1. 

Lower Mississippi and tributaries. 



The tonnage of the Ohio River and tributaries exceeds the combined tonnage of the 
Upper and Lower Mississippi and Missouri rivers and tributaries. 

At the Ohio River Improvement Convention, held at Cincinnati, October 8 and 9, 
1895, a paper read by Col. Amos Stickney, United States engineer, in charge of the 
Ohio River, states as follows: 

“The commerce of the river during the- year ending December 31, 1894, as ascer¬ 
tained in my office, amounted in round numbers to 7,800,000 tons, which is much 
greater than that of any other inland waterway in this country except two, one of 
which is the pathway of the Great Lake commerce, and the other is the Hudson 
River.” 

Volume of Tonnage in Canal Distrct as Shown from Railroad Tonnage. 

The following statement, compiled from the quarterly reports of the National Asso¬ 
ciation of Car Service Managers, shows the movement of railroad cars at the most 
important commercial centers of the United States for the year 1895, which includes 
only cars receiving and discharging cargo in the terrritory of the association, and as 
a rule, only cars having full cargo are reported—less carloads and mixed shipments 
are not reported to the association. This report shows that the Pittsburg district 
exceeds that of any other commercial center, and the tonnage of the district being 
largely of a character best adapted to a waterway, it illustrates not only the magni¬ 
tude of the tonnage in the districts reached by the canal, but the volume of the ton¬ 
nage available and that the waterway would have to draw upon for transportation. 


Name of association. 

Number of 
cars, year 
ending Dec. 
31, 1895.1 

Pittsburg... 

1,504,036 
1,233,985 
595,483 
559,311 
514,769 
485,200 

Philadelphia. 

New York and New Jersey. 

Western New York (Buffalo). 

Chicago. 

Mahoning and Shenango valleys. 



iFor the year ending December 31,1896: Pittsburg, 1,423,627; Philadelphia, 1,097,997; New York and 
New .Jersey, 577, 5 23; western New York (Buffalo), 591,610; Chicago, 394,425; Mahoning and Shenango 
valleys, 331,37/. 





































LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 35 


The Pittsburg and Mahoning and Shenango Valley associations are the districts 
which the canal would provide with direct water transportation. 

Considering the character of the tonnage in the canal district being so largely made 
up of crude materials and other heavy freight, and that the estimate is from full car¬ 
loads, we believe 20 tons per car would average the total freight moved, and there¬ 
fore the tonnage from full carloads in these districts together would be as follows: 


Number of cars. l, 989,236 

Tons of freight moved. 39 ? 784 , 720 


The tons of freight at 15 tons per car would be 29,838,540. It has been estimated 
that the railroad tonnage entering and leaving Pittsburg in 1892 aggregated 37,999,392 
tons. In no period of the world’s history has capital been invested in an artificial 
waterway that could reach such a colossal and magnificent tonnage of a character 
best suited to a waterway, and which would bring such vast and widespread com¬ 
mercial benefit as the proposed canal connecting Lake Erie and the Ohio River. 


Railroads Operating between Pittsburg and the Lakes. 

The following are the main-line and branch railroads operating wholly or in part 
between Pittsburg, the Mahoning and Shenango valleys, and the lakes: " 

1. Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad. 

2. Pittsburg and Western Railroad. 

3. Erie and Pittsburg Railroad. 

4. Cleveland and Pittsburg Railroad. 

5. Pittsburg, Youngstown and Ashtabula Railroad. 

6. Pittsburg and Lake Erie Railroad. 

7. Pittsburg, Shenango and Lake Erie Railroad. 

8. Allegheny Valley Railroad. 

9. Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad. (Branches to Mahoning and 
Shenango valleys.) 

10. Pittsburg, Painesville and Fairport Railroad. 

Taking the report of railroads (1) to (8) inclusive to the secretary of internal affairs 
for the year ending June 30, 1892, and including the ore and coal'tonnage only of (9) 
for 1892 (excluding(10)from which there was no report), the following is the com¬ 
bined tonnage of (1) to (8), including ore and coal tonnage of (9) for that year: 


Tons. 

Products of agriculture. 1,234, 031 

Products of animals.. 441, 734 

Products of mines. 24,517, 039 

Products of forests. 1,469,149 

Products of manufacture. 6,559,961 

Merchandise and miscellaneous.....'. 2,476, 903 


Total. 36, 698, 817 


The combined cost of road and equipment of railroads (1) to (9) inclusive is 
$172,141,738, the average expenses to earnings is 68 per cent, and the average rate on 
freight per ton per mile is 6.7 mills. 

From reliable reports received, covering all roads obtainable, we give below the 
tonnage, in items given, of roads only having terminus at Lake Erie ports from Cleve¬ 
land to Buffalo, carrying their traffic through from Pittsburg, Mahoning, and She¬ 
nango valleys to said lake ports or received from lines not included and receiving 
freight at said lake ports for said points, or delivered to other roads for through ship¬ 


ment to said points, for the year 1894: 

Tons. 

Iron ore.... 6,913,489 

Coal. 8,129,266 

Coke (5 roads). 2, 335, 677 

Manufactured iron and steel (5 roads). 3, 041, 466 


Total. 20,419, 898 


The total tonnage of said roads in 1894 was about 25,000,000 tons. 

Th coal, ore, and coke traffic of the above-named railroads averages over 50 per 
cent f their entire business, and the ton-mile rate on these raw materials is above 
the average of the ton-mile rate of all freight carried; and yet some of these roads are 
being operated almost continually at a net loss on capital invested. As the lowest 


















36 


LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


class traffic which properly belongs to a waterway has required a ton-mile rate above 
that of total freight carried, it is not hard to see that it would have been business 
economy for these railroads to have put a sufficient amount of the enormous cost of 
their roads into a ship canal and had it relieve them of this low-class freight, and 
develop the growth and prosperity of the manufacturing communities on which they 
are dependent for business, through a reduced cost on materials entering into manu¬ 
factured products, and thereby creating a higher class and more suitable and profitable 
traffic for railroads to carry. 


Commerce of St. Marys Falls Canal for the Year 1895. 

Iron ore. 

Coal.. 

Other freight. 


Net tons. 
8, 062, 209 
2, 574, 362 
4,426, 009 


Total. 15,062,580 

"The ore used in the canal district in 1895 was 6,978,017 tons, and the bituminous 
coal going to Lake Superior ports in 1894 w r as 1,509,543 tons from Pennsylvania; and 
assuming the same amount came from Pennsylvania in 1895, the coal and ore traffic 
of the canal district in 1895 would be 56.3 per cent of the total traffic of the St. 
Marys Falls Canal. 

Commerce of Detroit River for the Year 1895. 1 


Tons. 

Iron ore and finished iron.‘. 8, 451, 688 

Copper ore. 107,147 , 

Coal... 7,834,942 

Silver ore. 100 

Building stone. 347, 000 

Cement. 106,677 

Wheat. 1,865,735 

Flour. 1,153, 620 

Corn. 1,314,463 

Rye, barley, and oats. 844, 791 

Flax and grass seed. 77, 516 

Salt. 98, 000 

Shingles and laths. 50, 000 

Telegraph poles. 42, 000 

Logs. 152, 500 

Lumber. 1, 639, 000 

Provisions. 130,500 

Unclassified freight. 1, 630, 000 


Total. 25,845,679 


The coal, ore, and lumber tonnage of the canal district passing through Detroit 
River amounts to over one-third of the entire commerce passing that point. 

The lumber coming from the lakes to the Pittsburg district approximates annuallv 
500,000 tons. J 


Total Tonnage Movement of Points Connected by the Canal. 


Lake district— By the census bulletin, April 26,1892, the freight movement on the 
Great Lakes by all classes of United States commercial craft operating during the 
year ending December 31, 1889, was as follows: 

Tons. 

Steamers . 20,181,483 

Sailing vessels. 19 , 302, 949 

Unrigged craft...,. 13 , 940, 000 


Total 


2 53,424, 432 


1 The reports received in the United States engineer’s office, Detroit, to June 30 
1897, indicate that the total commerce of the Detroit River for 1896 will foot un about 
28,000,000 tons. 

Atlantic coast, 77,597,626 tons; Pacific, 8,818,363 tons; Gulf of Mexico, 2,864,956 
tons. 




































LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 37 


Ohio River district .—By the report of Col. Amos Stickney, United States engineer 
in charge of the Ohio River, and the census of 1890, the tonnage of the district was 


as follows: 

Tons. 

Ohio River (1894). 7, 800, 000 

Ohio River and tributaries (1889). 15, 600, 439 


Canal district .—For the purpose of this estimate we include all the territory reached 
through the canal and Ohio River covered by statistical information relating to 
manufacturing industries, and call it the “Pittsburg district.” By considering the 
volume of tonnage carried to and from this district by railroads extending east, south, 
and southwest, and considering the less carload and mixed carload tonnage, a con¬ 
servative estimate of 1?he entire rail and water tonnage movement of the canal district 


would be as follows: 

’ Tons. 

Pittsburg district. 50,000,000 

Mahoning and Shenango valleys. 10’, 000, 000 

Total. 60,000,000 


This union of waters and districts creating and moving such vast tonnage, affording 
the cheapest method of intercommunication by water, would insure widespread 
commercial benefits and a commerce for this waterway which the present can hardly 
accurately measure. 

Effect of Canal Rates on Existing Commerce, and Earnings for the Canal 

on Capital Invested. 


Before entering upon a discussion of this subject, we give below a comparative 
table of existing rail and water rates, which will be referred to in connection with 
the conclusions reached upon this subject. 

The rates here given are compiled from the years 1894 and 1895. 1 2 


From— 

To— 

Route. 

Articles. 

Rate per 
ton. 

Dist ance Ton-mile 
in miles, rate. 

Duluth. 

Ashtabula. 

Lake. 

Ore. 

$0.80 

890 

Mills. 

0. 89 

Ashtabula. 

Duluth. 

.do. 

Coal. 

.36| 

890 

.41 

Buffalo. 

.do. 

.do. 

.do. 

.25' 

1,000 

1,000 

.25 

Duluth .. 

Buffalo_ 

.do. 

Wheat. 

. 66 

.66 

Buffalo .. 

New York. 

Erie Canal. 

.do. 

.62 

'500 

1.24 

Do... 

...do. 

.do. 

Coal. 

.60 

500 

1.20 

New York. 

Buffalo. 

.do. 

Up-freight mer¬ 
chandise. 

Coal. 

.60 

500 

1.20 

Pittsburg.... 

New Orleans.... 

River . 

.70 

2,000 

.35 

Ashtabula 

Pittsburg 

Rail. 

Ore. 

21.15 

130 

8.85 

Pittsburg 

Ashtabula... 

.do. 

Coal. 

31.05 

130 

8.00 

Ashtabula 

Youngstown_ 

.do. 

Ore. 

2 67* 

62 

7. 66 

Pittsburg 

. .do. 

.do. 

Coal. 

.60 

65 

9.23 

Connellsville 

.do. 

.do. 

Coke. 

1.20 

121 

9.92 

Do. . 

Braddock . 

.do. 

.do. 

.50 

46 

10.87 

Do . 

Pittsburg. 

.do. 

.do. 

.65 

56 

11.60 

Do 

Cleveland .. 

.do. 

.do. 

1.55 

206 

7.52 

Do 

Chicago. 

.do. 

.do. 

2.65 

524 

5.06 

Do . 

Wheeling. 

.do. 

.do. 

1.20 

122 

9.84 

Pittsburg 

Chicago. 

.do. 

Coal. 

2.25 

468 

4.80 

Do 

New York. 

.do. 

Pig iron. 

2.40 

440 

5.45 

Ashtabula. 

Wheeling 

. .do. 

Ore. 

21.15 

140 

8.22 

Connellsville.... 

Buffalo.".. 

.do. 

Coke. 

2.00 

334 

6.17 


1 In June, 1897, rate on ore from Lake Erie, including transfer charges at lake as follows: Pittsburg, 
$1.05; Youngstown, $0.62L Coal from Pittsburg to Lake Erie, including transfer charges at lake, 
$1, of which 90 cents is rail rate and 10 cents transfer charges. Coke from Connellsville to Youngs¬ 
town, $1.10; Chicago, rail, $2.50; Cleveland, $1.40; Pittsburg, $0.55. 

2 Tnplndincr trDrmfpr pVidt'P’p^ nt IdIcp 

® Including transfer charges at lake, 15 cents; freight charges, 90 cents = 6.92 mills. 











































































































38 LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


Average freight rates, iron ore, from ports named to Lake Erie ports, for following 
years, as given in Marine Review: 


Year. 

Escanaba. 

Marquette. 

Ashland and other 
ports at head of Lake 
Superior. 

Wild or 
daily rate. 

Contract 

rate. 

Wild or 
daily rate. 

Contract 

rate. 

Wild or 
daily rate. 

Contract 

rate. 

1893 . 

$0.56 
.46 
.73 
.52 

$0.85 
.60 
. 55 

nC\ 

$0.71 
.60 
.92 

$1.00 
.80 
. 75 
.95 

$0.77 
.78 
1.13 
.77 

$1.00 
180 
.80 
1.05 

1894 . 

1895 . 

1896 . 


• • vJU 


Charges to vessel for trimming and unloading, 18 cents per ton. 

Average daily wild rates, soft coal, from Lake Erie ports to ports named, for fol¬ 
lowing years, as given in Marine Review: 


Year. 

Milwaukee. 

Escanaba. 

Duluth. 

Greenbay. 

Manitowoc. 

1893. 



©n oc 

$0.50 

.491 

$0.41 

1894. 

•ipu. ‘±0 

. 48 1 

W. 

QQ 

W. oo 

1895. 

. 54 

. oy 

QQ 

• 37i 

.48 

.51 

.32 

18961. 

• 33 i 

• 0*7 

on 

• 36^ 

. 50 

OO 1 



. n 

.29i 

. 32% 

'I n J T ne ’ or ® is being carr ied from the head of Lake Superior to Lake Erie ports at 60 cents 

and soft coal from Lake Erie ports to head of Lake Superior at 20 cents P ’ 


Coal of all kinds shipped in net tons and handled without charge to vessel. 

Chicago rate on soft coal practically same as Milwaukee. 

1896, hard coal, Buffalo to Duluth, 24 cents. 

Average rates on grain from Chicago to Buffalo were 1.3 cents in 1894, and 1.9 
cents in 1895, and 17 cents in 1896, and charges to vessel for shoveling, trimming 
and weighing gram foot up about §4.75 per 1,000 bushels. 

A study of the above tables ought to be sufficient in itself to require no further 
argument as to the necessity and advantages of the ship canal. A ton of ore is car¬ 
ried nearly 1 000 miles by lake for 80 cents, and is subjected to a tax of $1 15 for 
transfer and freight charges for overland carriage 130 miles to its destination, to which 
the ship canal will enable the same vessel to come and unload its cargo without 
transfer. A ton of coal is carried overland 130 miles at a cost of §1.05 for freight and 
transfer charges to a lake vessel, and then proceeds to its destination, almost 1 000 
miles, by vessel, at a cost of 25 to 37 cents. Ought such a tax and wasteful expense be 
allowed to exist on such a colossal commerce by the communities interchanging these 
commodities m a volume of such vast magnitude, when Nature has provided the wav 
to introduce a water route with the tremendous saving indicated in the above table? 

Ihe average ton-mile rate on all the railroads in the United States is about 8 25 

iQo^ Freig o on 11 ^? 68 pert0n per mile 011 18 trunk ra ilroads of the United States 
ioi ioim was o.^u mills. 

a + rai1 a f d water borne commer( ' e are concerned, it is therefore manifest 
that these two systems can never encroach the one upon the territory of the other 
ror can they ever hope to compete in rates, nor are they hostile to each other’s inter¬ 
ests, as anyone may learn who will examine the value of the securities and earnings 

raiir a yr„oVso mWed° Ver W P aralleled by waterways, as compared with 


Rates and Tolls through the Canal. 



By the introduction of the mineral train-boat system on the Aire and Calder Canal 
of an ?cean steamer. ePth ’ ^ C ° St P ® r ton " mlle has been reduc ed to the level of cost 

Therefore a vessel rate of 1 mill per ton per mile for ore, coal, and coke thro nidi a 
canal of the dimensions proposed for canal prism and locks, is a vessel rate that will 











































LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 39 


be profitable, where the way is open for 95 per cent of the steam vessels and barges 
now on the lakes to come through the canal and secure the movement by water of 
the great tonnage of the canal districts, which is best adapted to water transportation. 

The assumed toll rate on ore is 25 cents from Lake Erie to the districts on the Ohio 
River, and on coal 20 cents from the Pittsburg Harbor to Lake Erie. These were the 
rates established on the old Pittsburg-Erie Canal on coal and ore passing between 
Lake Erie and the Ohio River. 

The assumed rate on ore to the Mahoning and Shenango valleys is 15 cents, as the 
majority of the locks in the canal are passed in reaching those points. The assumed 
rate on coke through to lake points is the same as for coal, viz, 20 cents. 

On the above vessel rate of 1 mill per ton per mile and the above toll rates, the esti¬ 
mates of saving on commerce and earnings for the canal from ore, coal, and coke ton¬ 
nage are calculated by deducting them from existing rates of ovefrland carriage and 
transfer. 

Saved on ore and coal. 



Distance 
to Lake 
Erie via 
canal. 

Rail. 



Canal. 



District. 

Rail rate, 
includ¬ 
ing trans¬ 
fers. 

Rate 1 
mile. 

Tolls. 

Trans¬ 

fer. 

Total. 

Total 
saved per 
ton. 

Mahoning and Shenango Valley—ore. 

62 

$0.67 £ 

$0.06 

$0.15 


$0.21 

$0.46 

Allegheny County, Pa.—ore. 

130 

1.15 

.13 

.25 


.38 

.77 

Ohio Valley, Beaver to Bellaire—ore.. 

160 

1.15 

.16 

.25 


.41 

.74 

West Pennsylvania, outside above— 
ore 1 . 

130 

1.15 

.13 

.25 

$0.20 

.58 

.57 

Pittsburg coal on board at Lake Erie.. 

130 

1.05 

.13 

.20 

.33 

.72 


1 For furnaces in western Pennsylvania that would receive their ore through Pittsburg we have 
used the Pittsburg rate and the distance which the canal would reduce the water transportation; 
the actual rate would exceed the Pittsburg rate, and as their ore would have to be transferred to cars 
at Pittsburg we have allowed 20 cents in cost by canal, the usual transfer cost at Lake Erie ports. 

Ore .—Applying this saving and the above toll rates to the tonnage movement of 
1895 in ore, without taking into account the natural and inevitable increase which 
would follow from the reduced cost above given, effected by such a waterway, the 
following will represent the saving on the cost of ore and the earnings from the canal 
on the ore traffic of 1895: 


District. 

Ore required. 

Saved on cost 
of ore. 

Earned for 
canal. 

Alleghenv Countv, Pa. 

Shenango Valley, Pennsylvania. 

Mahoning Valley, Ohio..". 

Ohio Valley, Beaver to Bellaire. 

West Pennsylvania, outside above. 

Total. 

Tons. 

3,287,336 
1,302,059 
992,841 
668,145 
727, 636 

$2,531,248.72 
598,947.14 
456,7C6.86 
494,427.30 
414,752.52 

$821,834.00 
195,308.85 
148,926.15 
167,036. 25 
181, 909. 00 

6,978, 017 

• 4,496,082. 54 

1,515,014.25 



11,515,014.25 is 4.6 per cent on $33,000,000. 


Coal .—The total coal tonnage for the year 1894 of the railroads having terminals 
at Lake Erie ports from Buffalo to Cleveland, whose lines extend to Pittsburg or 
connected with main lines from Pittsburg, was 8,129,266 tons. 

As previously shown (p. 69) from the reports of the Ohio mine inspector and 
Coal Trade, the bituminous coal going to Lake Erie ports from western Pennsylvania 
in 1894 for consumption and transshipment was 6,761,891 tons. 

As also shown from the United States engineer’s report, the consumption of bitu¬ 
minous coal at six lake cities in 1893 was 16,462,328 tons. As Pittsburg coal, which 
is now so prominent a factor in lake consumption, could reach those markets at a 
reduced cost of 72 cents per ton, all bituminous coal consumed would necessarily come 
to the level of this coal in said markets. Therefore the saving on the cost of coal 
and earnings for the canal at 20 cents per ton toll on the amount going to Lake Erie 
in 1894 would be as follows: 


Saved on cost of coal from Pennsylvania. $4, 868, 561 

Total amount saved on fuel account, six lake cities. 11, 852, 876 

Earned for canal on above coal from Pennsylvania... 1, 352, 378 

Per cent earned on 133,000,000 . 4. 09 













































40 LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


In an able paper read recently by Mr. George E. Tener before the Engineers’ Society 
of western Pennsylvania, showing exhaustive study into the amount of waste in the 
transportation of coal by rail and transfer to lake vessel, it was shown that there was 
a loss of 10 per cent in the value of coal from the carriage by rail to lake ports and 
from the handling occasioned by transferring to and from lake vessels, and the saving 
of one transfer through the canal and saving in loss in vessel over rail carriage would 
easily exceed 5 per cent. 

As the value of coal going from western Pennsylvania for transshipment at lake 
ports by vessels would amount to over $3,000,000 a year, there would be a saving of 
over $150,000 a year in carrying this coal through without change by lake vessel from 
the Pittsburg district, as shown by Mr. Tener’s statement. 

Price of Coal at Tipple^ to Vessels on Monongahela River. 

The thin coal veins are located in the Chartiers district and in the first, second, 
and third pools of the Monongahela River. The thick coal veins are located in the 
fourth pool, Monongahela River, and south of Port Royal on the Youghiogheny 
River. 

At the 1896 mining rate of 64 cents for the thin coal and 51 cents for the thick 
coal, the following is the selling price per ton of the various grades at the tipples: 


Cents. 

Thin coal, run of mine. 65 

Thin coal, lump, f-inch screen. 75 

Thin coal, lump, 1^-inch screen... 85- 

Thick coal, run of mine. 55 to 60 

Thick coal, lump, f-inch screen. 65 to 70 

Thick coal, lump, lj-inch screen. 75 to 80 


Allowing 80 cents as the price of the coal at the tipples, 20 cents tolls through 
the canal, and 1 mill per ton per mile through the canal, and lake rates given on coal 
from Ashtabula to all upper lake ports, and 1 mill per ton per mile through to all Lake 
Erie ports, and all points reached through the Canadian and Erie-Hudson canals, the 
following will represent the distance by water from Pittsburg to the points named and 
the price at which Pittsburg lump coal could be sold alongside at said ports, covering 
the cost of the coal, cost of transportation, and toll charges: 


Distance from Pittsburg by water to following points , and estimated price of bituminous 

coal per ton. ' 


Cities. 

Canal. 

Lake. 

River. 

Total. 

Price of 
coal 
per ton. 

Ashtabula . 

Miles. 

128 

Miles. 

Miles. 

Miles. 

128 

244 

184 

274 

275 
909 
844 
779 

1,017 

596 

*7 A O 1 

81.13 

1.24 

1.18 

1.27 

1.27 

1.67 

1.67 

1.65 

1.50 

1.60 

Buffalo. 

128 

128 

128 

128 

128 

128 

128 

128 

1 480 

M80 

1480 

1480 

155 

198 

116 

56 

146 

147 
781 
716 
651 
889 
116 
116 

2 190 

2 305 
132 
272 


Cleveland. 


Toledo. 


Detroit. . . 


Chicago. 


Milwaukee. 


Marquette . 


Duluth . 


Albany. 


New York . 


New Haven . 

10U 

/ < ±0 

con 

1. 70 

1 Q O 

Providence. 

lOU 
. 1 

ozu 

OOP. 

1 . oz 

Toronto.. 

lOU 

yoO 

287 

KQC 

1.94 
1.29 
1.60 

Montreal. 

lOK 


JLZO 

oyt> 


1 Lake Erie and Ohio River and Erie-Hudson canals.' 

2 Lake and Long Island Sound. 


For distance by water from Cincinnati to above points add 443 miles for Ohio River 
from mouth of Beaver River to Cincinnati, allowing only 100 miles for the Lake Erie 
and Ohio River Canal, as the distance from Pittsburg to the mouth of Beaver River 
would be saved. Wheeling, on the Ohio River, is 65 miles below the mouth of the 
Beaver River. 











































LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 41 

When the coastwise canal is completed, distance New York to Philadelphia and 
Baltimore as follows: 



Canal. 

River 
and bay. 

Total. 

New York to Philadelphia. 

Miles. 

31 

14 

Miles. 

59 

126 

Miles. 

90 

140 

Philadelphia to Baltimore. 



If the Coastwise Canal is completed and made a Federal waterway, free of tolls, 
the price at Philadelphia would be about 10 cents above New York, and Baltimore 
about 25 cents above New York. A comparison of existing prices of bituminous coal 
in the above markets will indicate the reduction in the cost of bituminous fuel at 
these points from having access by water to the coal and coke fields of western 
Pennsylvania. 

It is apparent also that pig iron could pay a higher toll rate and a higher ton mile 
rate and reach New York at about $1 per ton less than rail rates; and in like manner 
all heavy products of iron and steel, such as billets, rails, merchant and armor plate, 
could reach tide water with a great saving in cost over present facilities. 

Coke Used by Lake Furnaces. 

As previously shown, page 66, in 1895 the 29 coke furnaces on the lakes produced 
1,508,286 tons of pig iron, requiring an equal number of tons of coke, as follows: 


Location of furnaces. 

1 Number. 

Coke re¬ 
quired. 



Tons. 

Chicago, Ill. 

17 

1,006,091 

Milwaukee, Wis. 

4 

102,443 

Duluth, Minn.. 

1 


Cleveland, Ohio. 

5 

286,861 

Buffalo and Tonawanda, N. Y. 

2 

112,891 

Total. 

29 

1,508,286 




Allowing the rail freight to Braddock 50 cents per ton, and 15 cents per ton for 
transfer to deck of steamer at that point, and 6 1 * cents per ton through one lock on 
Monongahela River, 1 mill per ton per mile for the distance by water through the 
canal to Cleveland and Buffalo; and for Chicago and Milwaukee 1 mill per ton per 
mile to Ashtabula; and then same rate by lake as on coal to said points, and 20 cents 
per ton toll through the canal, the saving in cost of transportation of coke to said 
points will be as follows: 


Furnaces. 

Rail 

rate. 

Water 

rate. 

Saved 
per ton. 

Saved on 
coke used in 
1895. 

Illinois. 

$2.65 

$1.58 

$1.07 

1.07 

$1,076,517.37 
109,614.01 

Wisconsin. 

2. 65 

1.58 

1.09 

Ohio. 

1.55 

.46 

131,956.06 
95,957.35 

New York. 

2.00 

1.15 

.85 


Total. 




1,414,044.79 






Five cents per ton may be added to the water rate to cover cost of transfer from 
vessel to stock pile at furnace, and still the saving over existing rates will be apparent. 
The 20 cents per ton toll charges on all of the above coke going to lake furnaces in 
1895, 1.508,286 tons, would earn for the canal $301,657.20. 


Saved on cost of coke.$1,414, 044. 79 

Earned for canal. $301, 657. 20 

Per cent earned on $33,000,000 . X 9 7 V of 1 per cent. 


1 Monongahela River now a Government waterway and free from tolls, and 6 cents 

per ton may be deducted from water rate. 



















































42 


LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


Recapitulation. 

On the basis of the existing ore tonnage coming to the above districts, and the 
existing coal tonnage going from western Pennsylvania to the lakes for consumption, 
and the existing coke requirements of the 29 lake furnaces, the following will repre¬ 
sent the commerce in these three articles for the canal and the saving in cost of 
transportation of same and earnings for the canal were this waterway open for their 
through transportation: 


Articles. 

Tonnage. 

Saved on 
cost. 

Earned for 
canal. 

iPer cent on 
$33,000,000. 


6,978,017 
1,508,286 
6,761,891 

$4,496,082 
1,414,044 
4,868,561 
6,984,315 

*1 rik 014 

4.60 

Coke . :. 

OH/j Ul x 

Q01 rtn 7 

Coal transported from Pennsylvania .... 

Coal (cost other bituminous coal lake ports). 

OV/J., Uo / 

1,352,378 

| 

• »7l 

4.09 





Total. 

15,248,194 

17,763,002 

3,169,049 

9.60 


The saving on the cost of the above items of commerce would be sufficient in 
about two years to cover the entire cost of building the canal, and the gross earnings 
on the capital invested would amount to 9.6 per cent. The above estimate of earn¬ 
ings is based exclusively on tolls from above items of freight carried. Tolls from ves¬ 
sels running light through the canal are not included, which would be a legitimate 
source of additional revenue. 

No allowance is made in above estimate for the earnings from passenger traffic, the 
inland commerce of the canal between the populous points located on it, the coal 
and coke that would go by water from the Monongahela Valley to the Mahoning and 
Shenango Valley. No allowance is also made for the lumber traffic nor the traffic in 
limestone and building stone, of which vast beds are located along the line of the 
canal, and in stone and lumber the annual traffic would exceed 1,000,000 tons. 

No allowance is made for the traffic in manufactured products and other heavy 
freight. It will be seen (p. —) that the railroads having terminals at Lake Erie 
ports, from Cleveland to Buffalo, carried in 1894 over 3,000,000 tons, not including 
the mam lines extending to Chicago and other lake ports west of Clevelard; and it 
would be safe to assume that the canal would carry at least 1,000,000 tons annually 
of heavy manufactured products for lake ports and for tide-water points through the 
deepened Erie-Hudson Canal. 

No allowance is made for the commerce seeking a water route through the canal 
from lower Ohio and Mississippi river points, destined for lake points and tide-water 
points, through the Erie-Hudson Canal, nor for the commerce that will seek this 
water route from tide-water and lake points destined for Ohio and Mississippi river 
points. 

The earnings from these items of commerce not entering into the above calculations 
ought certainly to increase the earnings to a sufficient amount to cover cost of main¬ 
tenance and operation and leave 10 per cent net profit annuallv on the cost of build¬ 
ing the canal. 


The cost of maintenance and operation is estimated at $250,000 per annum, as will 
appear from the report of the engineering committee and consulting board, which is 
only about 8 per cent of above earnings. The ore, coal, and coke traffic, therefore, 
would earn 5 per cent on the cost of the canal, pay operation and maintenance, and 
put over $1,000,000 annually into the sinking fund. 

From the data given, which has been collected from the most reliable sources and 
which is set forth more fully in the appendix, the existing traffic that would seek the 
canal at its opening for transportation annually may conservatively be summarized 
as follows: 


Iron ore.. 

Coal. * . 

coke.iiiiriziirrimiizziiiiii 

Heavy manufactured products.[[ 

Limestone, lumber, building stone, and general merchandise 


Tons. 

7,000, 000 
7, 000, 000 
2, 000, 000 
1,000, 000 
1, 500, 000 


National and Local Advantages of the Canal. 


First. It will furnish cheaper ores and cheaper food 
facturing districts reached by the canal. 


products to the great 


manu- 

























LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 43 


Second. It will furnish cheaper fuel and thereby cause cheaper cost of living and 
manufacturing in all the Great Lakes district and in the districts connected with the 
Great Lakes by waterways. 

Third. It will afford a cheaper avenue of commercial communication and inter¬ 
change of products between the Great Lakes district and the great States reached by 
the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and the seaboard cities. 

Fourth. It will provide water communication for the fuel deposits of western 
Pennsylvania to reach the Great Lakes cities, and districts reached through tributary 
waterways, which are the natural markets for coal and coke located in the Pittsburg 
district and the Monongahela River, and leave the Lower Ohio and Mississippi River 
coal markets for the Kanawha River, Tennessee, Kentuckv, and Alabama coal pro¬ 
ducers. 

Fifth. It will provide the means for national defense in time of war, as the mills 
making plate and angle iron and armor plate for steel merchant and naval vessels 
are now located on the canal and in the Pittsburg Harbor, and therefore they could 
be built more cheaply alongside these mills than any point in the country, and put 
out into the lakes in a few’ hours when needed, without violating any existing treaty 
relating to the number of w r ar vessels permitted on the Great Lakes. 

Sixth. .The canal will make Pittsburg a lake port, with its tremendous natural 
resources, ponderous manufacturing industries originating a magnificent tonnage, now 
so prominent a feature of lake traffic, and vastly increase and expand this traffic to 
the advantage of all points provided with and connected by water through the canal, 
by reason of the cheaper transportation afforded; and the dimensions adopted for 
the canal and locks will permit 95 out of every 100 steam vessels and barges now 
carrying traffic on the lakes to directly reach this great tonnage-producing district. 

James Fisher, Q. C. M. P. P., of Winnipeg, speaking in the Cleveland Deep Water- 
w r avs Convention in relation to the value to commerce of enlarged waterway systems, 
said: 

‘ ‘ Do w T e realize how trade would be increased and the prosperity of the tw r o coun¬ 
tries promoted if canal systems connecting with the Great Lakes w r ere extended in 
other directions? Looking at the vast movement in coal and ore, for instance, 
between the lakes and the Pittsburg district, what a stimulus w T ould be given to that 
trade by the opening of a w ? ater channel in that direction. What sum expended in 
such an enterprise would be too great to be justified by the commercial advantages 
it w 7 ould bring and the actual saving in dollars and cents in the cost of transportation? 
In the American Union, apart from New r York and Pennsylvania, there are 16 great 
States that are, to a large extent, dependent on the lake route for transportation of 
their products. They are all States in which population is increasing and industries 
extending from year to year.” 

When the Mikado of Japan felt the necessity of having a modern equipped navy 
in the recent war with China, he personally contributed $2,000,000 to that end, and 
urged upon the Government the necessity of prompt action, saying, “The delay of a 
year may mean the regret of a century.” 

When we measure the widespread benefit to commerce and manufactures from 
connecting, by the proposed Lake Erie and Ohio River Ship Canal, the Great Lakes 
w r ith the greatest system of inland river navigation in the wmrld, uniting the great 
ore and fuel deposits in this country by water, effecting such enormous economy in 
the cost of production for over three-fourths of the iron and steel producing indus¬ 
tries of this country; when we measure the possibilities of expansion of our foreign 
commerce by connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean, in the interest of 
economy in transportation of the products of the field, mine, and mill; when w r e 
measure the possibilities of national defense in time of w 7 ar from the existence of 
these connecting waterways, w 7 e say to our legislators and the public-spirited and 
patriotic citizens of America, these improvements should receive their immediate 
and active attention lest “ the delay of a year may mean the regret of a century.” 

Wm. P. Herbert, Chairman. 

John E. Shaw 7 , Secretary. 


APPENDIX TO REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON RAILROAD AND CANAL 

STATISTICS. 


RAILWAYS. 


Tonnage Movement. 

m 

We herewith present the data given in the tables below relating to the tonnage 
traffic of the railroads named in western Pennsylvania connecting with Pittsburg 
and operated between and connecting Pittsburg with the lakes. 

The purpose of these tables is to show the character of the tonnage created and 
moved in western Pennsylvania by the railroads, and how large a proportion of the 
tonnage is the product of the mines. It also serves in a way to illustrate the magni j 
tude of the tonnage created by the mining and manufacturing industries of western 
Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio. 


Tonnage of articles specified and total tonnage of road. 

PITTSBURG, FORT WAYNE AND CHICAGO RAILWAY. 


Articles. 

1890. 

1891. 

1892. 

1893. 

1894. 

Grain.. 

295, 966 

325,144 

335, 925 

268,838 

283,747 

Flour. 

129, 733 

136,189 

132, 929 

149,218 

158,545 

Anthracite coal. 

85,828 

88, 369 

137,556 

157,915 

117,978 

Bituminous coal. 

1,199,843 

1,129,387 

1, 316,395 

1,421,207 

1,462.745 

Coke . 

1,008, 994 

799,613 

1, 009, 229 

659,913 

788,980 

Ores. 

919,547 

902,815 

1,007,776 

816,902 

1,039,109 

Stone, sand, etc. 

694,421 

596,923 

643,361 

516,869 

646,987 

Lumber. 

426,944 

376,005 

432, 966 

371,648 

320,879 

Iron—pig and bloom. 

416,435 

392, 773 

416,162 

370,341 

• 485, 976 

Iron and steel rails. 

81,717 

53, 781 

73,085 

42,389 

28,437 

Castings and machinery. 

150,255 

108, 339 

97,258 

81,588 

77,533 

Bar and .sheet metal. 

317,911 

352,136 

415,100 

373,441 

323,443 

Cement and brick. 

164,231 

188,035 

293,135 

241,985 

229,555 

Other articles. 

2,051,063 

1,898,524 

2,119, 738 

2,015,511 

1, 883', 850 

Total ... 

7,942,888 

7,348,033 

8,430,615 

7,517,765 

7,847,764 

Mineral tonnage, per cent. 

49.2 

47.8 

48.8 

47.9 

51.6 


ERIE AND PITTSBURG RAILROAD. 


Grain. 

Flour.. 

Anthracite coal. 

Bituminous coal. 

Coke. 

Ores. 

Stone, sand, etc. 

Lumber ... . 

Iron—pig and bloom. 

Iron and steel rails. 

Castings and machinery . 

Bar and sheet metal. 

Cement and brick. 

Other articles. 

Total. 

Mineral tonnage, per cent 


6,731 

4,676 

2,405 

2, 059 

1,496 

25,200 

1,475 

2,350 

1,307 

5,171 

65 

18 

• 109 

153 

271 

391,273 

322,986 

307,459 

323,718 

388,741 

270,498 

116,865 

151, 787 

95,657 

155,233 

492, 589 

523,842 

636,244 

620,007 

783,836 

103,102 

54,587 

49,270 

61,701 

74,351 

-57,008 

66,353 

73,273' 

63, 697 

35,090 

223,016 

191,099 

171,799 

189,750 

181,072 

1,717 

998 

345 

298 

102 

14,796 

8.899 

10,980 

6,635 

4,267 

27,047 

17,197 

29,084 

18,596 

8,729 

16,233 

17,425 

11,228 

8,995 

4,931 

173, 800 

151,031 

151,382 

116,891 

121,647 

1,803,105 

1,477,451 

1,597,715 

1,509,464 

1,764,937 

69.7 

68.9 

71.6 

72.9 

79.4 


44 










































































LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 45 


Tonnage of articles specified and total tonnage of road —Continued. 

CLEVELAND AND PITTSBURG RAILROAD. 


Articles. 

1890. 

1891. 

1892. 

1893. 

1894. 

Grain. 

29,232 
13,547 
8,668 
1,469,526 
856,697 
702,270 
287,184 
157,663 
403,120 
40,726 
29, 996 
153,643 
149,424 
983,145 

26,398 
14,434 
18,268 
1,430, 722 
295,892 
658,727 
264,384 
144,508 
388,630 
10,142 
30,015 
151,041 
143, 912 
946,474 

28,528 
17, 666 
8,548 
1,575,191 
379, 902 
811,757 
296,800 
158, 622 
382,479 
14, 397 
30,541 
142,360 
151,564 
987,832 

23, 649 
20,181 
5,011 
1,455,409 
240,969 
580,836 
193,928 
125,741 
311,996 
14,104 
25, 486 
151,733 
153, 321 
856,477 

23,452 
26,102 
12,850 
1,240,289 
281,730 
575, 577 
174,435 
104.001 
317,380 
9,832 
30,531 
126,659 
134,628 
866,147 

Flour. 

Anthracite coal. 

Bituminous coal. 

Coke. 

Ores. 

Stone, sand, etc. 

Lumber. 

Iron—pig and bloom. 

Iron and steel rails. 

Castings and machinery. 

Bar and sheet metal.. 

Cement and brick. 

Other articles. 

Total. 

Mineral tonnage, per cent. 

4,784,841 

4,523,547 

4,986,187 

4,158,841 

3,923,613 

59 

58.9 

61.6 

59.5 

58.2 


PITTSBURG, YOUNGSTOWN AND ASHTABULA RAILROAD. 


Grain.. 

Flour. 

Anthracite coal. 

Bituminous coal. 

Coke. 

Ores. 

Stone, sand, etc. 

Lumber. 

Iron—pig and bloom. 

Iron and steel rails. 

Castings and machinery.. 
Bar and sheet metal...... 

Cement and brick. 

Other articles. 

Total. 

Mineral tonnage, per cent 


- 10,578 

26,500 
1,279 
864,016 
507,669 
1,271,711 
539,418 
68,205 
333,060 
2,581 
21,673 
101,582 
29, 843 
296, 519 

13,924 
3,565 
2,811 
812,994 
342,685 
1,261,122 
416,040 
73,075 
325,971 
2,364 
15, 312 
100,466 
29,494 
238,415 

5,867 
5,162 
2,946 
887,434 
362,698 
1,575,464 
518, 788 
94,741- 
368,680 
3,403 
19, 626 
123,474 
33,053 
313,799 

8,722 
3,194 
3,264 
763,054 
336,687 
1,387,174 
373,625 
96,929 
366,116 
1,685 
20,067 
79, 981 
41,148 
283,901 

4,585 
7,398 
1,887 
734,301 
401,875 
1,595,288 
368,256 
73,193 
405,885 
1,902 
22,899 
69,723 
46, 715 
260,478 

4,074, 634 

3,638,238 

4,315,135 

3,765,547 

3,994,385 

78.1 

77.9 

77.5 

76 

77.6 


PITTSBURG AND LAKE ERIE RAILROAD. 

[Taken from the annual reports issued by the railroad company.] 


Grain. 

45,402 

47, 373 

32,485 

28,157 

19,254 

Flour. 

12,915 

12,026 

14,257 

15,788 

15,895 

Coal. 

2,029,597 

2,188,298 

3,061,960 

3,398,194 

3,355,805 

Coke. 

1,605,011 

1,213,987 

1,708,492 

1,308,720 

1,215,769 

Ores. 

1,047, 976 

1,354,972 

1,504,494 

1,351,044 

1,364,966 

Limestone. 

290,597 

200,105 

21 s , 002 

169,337 

127,936 

Stone and sand. 

111,416 

58,071 

70,903 

52,666 

79,130 

Lumber. 

105,391 

127,899 

110,583 

94,180 

63,690 

Pig iron. 

296,258 

302,204 

311,943 

250,481 

273,387 

Railroad iron. 

50,388 

63, 920 

90,192 

49,006 

33,345 

Iron and castings. 

490, 644 

417, 366 

388,926 

324,092 

293,304 

Scrap iron. 

62,134 

41,946 

57,390 

63,602 

47,110 

Cinder. 

114,921 

96, 995 

97,504 

107,049 

74,584 

Brick and clay. 

78,798 

73,660 

86,116 

81,821 

59,931 

Other freight. 

187,800 

256,375 

289,121 

355,052 

361,482 

Total. 

6, 529,248 

6,455,197 

8,042,368 

7,649,189 

7,385,588 

Mineral tonnage, per cent. 

77.8 

77.6 

81.6 

82.0 

83.1 


























































































46 LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


Tonnage of articles specified and total tonnage of road —Continued. 

ALLEGHENY VALLEY RAILROAD. 

[Taken from the annual reports issued by the railroad company.] 


•- V 

Articles. 

1890. 

1891. 

1892. 

1893. 

1894. 

Grain. 

28,726 
9,201 
398 
1,166,900 
382,762 
323,806 
311,648 
383,676 
564,062 
28,094 
207,502 
91,135 
82, 831 
748,349 

23,659 
13,840 
229 
1,402,250 
274,453 
248,485 
289,579 
370,229 
644,849 
23,910 
147,815 
84,128 
107,101 
638,048 

24,950 
15,124 
274 

1,621,473 
260 921 

9 A 4Qk 

18, 677 
14,894 
1,119 
1,516,078 

9ft1 A7A 

Flour. 

1£ 9 kA 

Anthracite coal. 

293 
1,710,118 
263,737 

9QQ fiQA 

Bituminous coal. 

Coke. 

Ores. 

9 dk 199 

333,296 
332,771 
221,686 
781,627 
12, 908 
85,513 
335,291 
114,676 
487,577 

Stone, sand, etc. 

316,528 
431 473 

979 9^0 

Lumber. 


Iron—pig and bloom. 

838,475 
22,749 
155,598 
165,091 
118, 555 
605, 581 

oiy, ooo 

740,325 
11,498 
98,355 
280,989 
108,503 

f^ia <;aa 

Iron and steel rails. 

Castings and machinery. 

Bar and sheet metal.._ 

Cement and brick. 

Other freight. 



Total. 

4,329,290 1 

4,268,575 

4,824,914 

4,634,172 

4,537,183 


Mineral tonnage-, per cent. 

50.0 

51.8 

50.7 

53.6 

XlA o 


04:. L 


PITTSBURG, CINCINNATI, CHICAGO AND ST. LOUIS RAILROAD. 


Grain. 

Flour. 

Anthracite coal. 

Bituminous coal. 

Coke. 

Ores. 

Stone, sand, etc.. 

Lumber.. 

Iron—pig and bloom.. 

Iron and steel rails.. 

Castings and machinery .. 

Bar and sheet metal. 

Cement and brick. 

Other articles. 

Total. 

Mineral tonnage, per cent 


1,083,621 

701,718 

788,129 

688,459 

782,722 

156,373 

119, 754 

183,189 

150, 310 

138, 308 

368,439 

308,809 

352, 784 

396,645 

278,081 

2,300,481 

1,878,363 

2,210, 378 

2, 410,897 

2,501, 693 

1,006,149 

472,125 

472,829 

265, 983 

192,078 

69,336 

42, 077 

129,629 

67,045 

35,360 

395,499 

465, 793 

747, 699 

598,839 

755,470 

1,007, 859 

772, 302 

872, 905 

744,450 

564, 739 

290,718 

221,315 

222,539 

229,079 

306,161 

358, 683 

118,242 

167,481 

88,386 

81,285 

187, 434 

191,837 

206,540 

147,120 

156, 298 

476, 739 

352,011 

342,330 

296,946 

366,925 

435.225 

360, 991 

497,167 

425,108 

449,151 

3,036,391 

3, 936,663 

4,163,614 

3, 793,058 

3, 774,067 

13,172,938 

9,951,000 

11,357,213 

10,301,725 

10,381,338 

31.4 

31.8 

34.4 

36.3 

36.2 


CHARTIERS RAILROAD. 


Grain. 

Flour. 

Anthracite coal. 

Bituminous coal. 

Coke.. 

Ores. 

Stone, sand, etc. 

Lumber. 

Iron—pig and bloom. 

Iron and steel rails. 

Castings and machinery.. 

Bar and sheet metal. 

Cement and brick. 

Other articles. 

Total. 

Mineral tonnage, per cent 


2,749 

2,538 

2,115 

2,493 

2,519 

1,797 

2,278 

1,878 

1,641 

1,943 

130 

130 

21 

93 

66 

569, 961 

630,581 

953,540 

1,104,323 

1,117,056 

1,437 

1,347 

799 

1,138 

712 

491 

497 

118 

71 

243 

11,504 

15,367 

10,542 

20,569 

13,338 

22,892 

21,383 

19,633 

19,339 

15'768 

5,149 

6,048 

10,391 

11i935 

ll’392 

586 

1,266 

977 

266 

319 

9,568 

10,455 

11, 985 

9,155 

8,452 

7,390 

14,220 

11,225 

7; 447 

9j 469 

4,992 

12,190 

4,200 

5,353 

5' 713 

109,788 

93,828 

60,263 

59,047 

50,355 

748,434 

812,128 

1, 087,687 

1,242,870 

1,237,345 

77.9 

79.7 

88.7 

90.6 

91.4 























































































































LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 47 

Chaiacter and amount of freight handled by the Northwest railroad systems connecting 
Western Pennsylvania and the Great Lakes for the year ending June 30, 1892. 

[Report to secretary of internal affairs.] 


Railroads. 

Products 
of agri¬ 
culture. 

Products 

of 

animals. 

Products 
of mines. 

Products 

of 

forests. 

Products 
of manu¬ 
facture. 

Merchan¬ 
dise and 
miscella¬ 
neous 
freight. 

Total 

freight 

carried. 

Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and 

Chicago R. R. 

Pittsburg and Western R. R.. 

Erie and Pittsburg R. R. 

Cleveland and Pittsburg R. R. 
Pittsburg, Youngstown and 

Ashtabula R. R. 

Pittsburg and Lake Erie R. R. 
Pittsburg,Shenango and Lake 

Erie R. R. 

Allegheny Valley R. R. 

Lake Shore and Michigan 
Southern R. R. Valley 
Branches.. 

815,271 
115,388 
19,960 
87,425 

43,020 
69,086 

13,818 
70,063 

344,014 
7,844 
10,160 
27,654 

11,527 
12, 609 

4,547 
23,379 

4,155,654 
1,892,233 
1,184,638 
3,131,680 

3,523, 744 
6,097,342 

450,646 
2,387,801 

4 1,693,301 

416,539 
150,169 
76,645 
154,113 

94, 279 
120,323 

31,064 
426,017 

1,519,595 
363,425 
316, 903 
1,384,475 

693,789 
919,269 

38,928 
1,323,577 

1,080,857 
596, 792 
66,375 
187,352 

99,452 
282,557 

29,168 
134,350 

8,331,930 
3,125,851 
1,674,681 
4,972, 699 

4,465,811 

7.501.186 

568,171 

4.365.187 

1 1,693 301 

Total. 






1,234,031 

441,734 

24, 517,039 

1,469,149 

6,559,961 

2,476, 903 

36,698,817 


1 Coal and ore only. 


The following data relating to the railroads named, connecting with Pittsburg, was 
taken from the report of said railroads to the secretary of internal affairs for the year 
ending June 30, 1896: 


Railroads. 

Cost of road 
and equip¬ 
ment. 

Freight car¬ 
ried. 

Average 
receipts 
per ton 
per mile. 

1. Pittsburg, Fort Wavne and Chicago. 

$50,171,828 
18,979, 775 
5,101,604 
6,405,341 
42,977,000 
9,233, 605 
10,027,807 
25,240, 609 
93,743,340 
7,181,380 
115,567,004 

6, 602,304 
2,519,595 
7,562, 557 

17,035,433 

7, 709,650 
1,398,628 
3,636,781 
2,421,435 

Tons. 

4 9,071,226 

4 4,541,475 

4 2,358, 547 

4 5,027,804 
5, 832,286 
9,917,214 
1,118, 669 

4 2, 783,193 
7,120,114 

Mills. 

2. Cleveland and Pittsburg. 

i 2 .643 

3. Erie and Pittsburg. 7 . 

4. Pittsburg, Youngstown and Ashtabula. 


5. Alleghenv Valiev. 

776 

6. Pittsburg and Lake Erie. 

. 672 

7. Pittsburg,Shenango and Lake Erie 3 . 

.480 

8. Pittsburg and Western. 

9. Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis. 

.648 

10. Wheeling, Pittsburg and Baltimore. 

1,773,316 
60,386,230 

688 

11. Pennsylvania. 

.563 

12. Western Pennsylvania. 

13. Southwest Pennsylvania. 



14. Pittsburg, Virginia and Charleston .. 



15. Pittsburg and Connellsville. 

2 6,332,688 

.703 

16. Pittsburg, McKeesport and Youghiogheny. 

17. Pittsburg, Chartiers and Youghiogheny. 

1,072,647 

1.805 

18. Pittsburg Junction. 

19. Fairmount, Morgantown and Pittsburg. 

707,557 

1.741 



1 Year ending June 30, 1895. 

2 Pennsylvania Company. 

3 Now consolidated with the Butler and Pittsburg under the name of the Pittsburg, Bessemer and 
Lake Erie Railroad, known as the “Carnegie road,” being now under construction from Butler to 
Pittsburg and forming a continuous line from Pittsburg to Conneaut Harbor, on Lake Erie. 

4 Year ending June 30, 1894. 


RAILWAYS OF THE WORLD. 

From the statistics brought down to the end of 1892, the railway mileage of the 
world is given as follows: America, 218,871 miles; Europe, 144,359 miles; Asia, 23,219 
miles; Africa, 7,212 miles; Australia, 12,685 miles. Total, 406,346 miles. America 
has 31,000 miles more than all the rest of the world combined. 

Of European nations, Germany has 27,451; France, 24,014; and Spain, 6,769 miles. 
For every 10,000 inhabitants in the United States there are 25.12 miles of railroad, 
while for every 10,000 inhabitants in Europe the proportion falls to 4.22 miles. In 
the United States we have 4,913 miles of railway for every 300 square miles, while in 
more densely settled Europe the mileage is but 3.829 per 100 square miles. 







































































48 LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


RAILWAYS OF THE UNITED STATES. 

The annual statistical report of the Interstate Commerce Commission for the year 
ending June 30, 1895, gives the total railway mileage in the United States as 180,657 
miles. The aggregate length of all tracks was 236,894 miles. Included in this total 
track mileage were 10,639 miles of second track, 975 miles of third track, 733 miles of 
fourth track, and 43,888 miles of yard track and sidings. 

There were in the hands of receivers 169 roads, representing 37,855 miles of line 
and $2,439,144,503 capital, about 22.20 per cent of the total railway capital in the 
United States. 

The amount of railway capital on June 30, 1895, was $10,985,203,125, or $63,330 
per mile of line, and was distributed as follows: Capital stock, $4,961,258,656, of 
which $4,201,697,351 was common stock and $759,561,305 preferred stock; the funded 
debt was $5,407,114,313, classified as bonds, $4,659,873,548; miscellaneous obliga¬ 
tions, $445,221,472; income bonds, $246,103,966, and equipment trust obligations, 
$55,915,327; the current liabilities amounted to $616,830,156. 

Stock to the amount of $3,475,640,203, or 70.05 per cent of the total outstanding, 
paid no dividend; and $904,436,200, or 16.90 per cent of the funded debt, exclusive 
of equipment trust obligations, paid no interest. The amount of bonds paying no 
interest was $624,702,293, or 13.41 per cent; of miscellaneous obligations, $54,498, 
or 12.24 per cent; of income bonds, $225,235,619, or 91.52 per cent. The average 
rate of dividends for all stocks amounted to 1.7 per cent, and on total railway debt, 
stock, bonds, and miscellaneous debt, amounted to 3.1 per cent. Total number of 
railway employees, 785,034. Number of passengers carried, 507,421,362. Number 
of tons of freight carried, 696,761,171. 1 

The figures presented by the board of trade relating to railroads of the United 
Kingdom for 1895 serve to make a comparison with similar returns for the railroads 
in the United States. The ordinary capital of all the British railroads in 1895 was 
£364,000,000, of which £46,000,000 received no dividend, £29,000,000 got 2 per cent 
or less; £40,000,000, 3 per cent; £27,000,000, 4 per cent; £52,000,000, 5 per cent; 
£105,000,000, 6 per cent, and £57,000,000, 7 per cent or over. The preference capital 
amounted to £253,000,000, of which £14,000,000 received no dividend, while almost 
the whole of the remainder received between 3 and 5 per bent. 

Guaranteed capital amounted to £102,000,000, practically the whole of it receiving 
3 and 5 per cent also. There were £28,000,000 of loans and debentures; £131,000,000 
at 3 per cent, £93,000,000 at from 3 to 4 per cent, and £53,000,000 at from 4 to 5 per 
cent. 

An examination into the financial condition of railways throughout the country 
will discover that the defaulting lines are not usually those which have the assist¬ 
ance and cooperation of waterways in their traffic. A further proof of this statement 
can be found in comparison of the market value of the securities of railways connect¬ 
ing points having competing waterways with those of railways having no such 
competition. 

The prosperity of the railways depends upon the prosperity of the communities they 
connect, and the prosperity of the communities connected depends upon their having 
the cheapest transportation possible for their commerce. The railways can con¬ 
tribute to this end to a certain limit, but'when that limit is reached, and the condi¬ 
tions for prosperity for any community demand further reduction of cost in trans¬ 
portation, it is futile and disastrous for the railways to attempt to provide it. 

The waterway, however, where practicable, can provide it, and in the renewed 
stimulus to commerce and manufacture the railways become certain benefactors. 

The above data relating to the railways of the world and the United States is intro¬ 
duced here to show financiers and legislators certain prominent features that mav 
tend to discover whither we are drifting. They show, first, that we have pushed 
railroad construction until its mileage has reached a percentage, both territorial and 
per capita, to which other countries have not dared to follow us; second, the large 
proportion of capital being wrecked in railroad undertakings; and third, the small 
returns on the capital invested as compared with the railroads of Great Britain, and 
the same result will be apparent in a comparison of the financial condition of the 
railroads of France and Germany. 

The struggle between nations to place the products of their industry in the world's 
markets has become so keen that the United States, to keep pace with all competi¬ 
tors, demands a reduction in the cost of its products and their distribution through 
the agency of a reduced cost of transportation. Railways have attempted to meet 


1 The tonnage moved in and about Pittsburg and the districts reached bv the canal 
nearly equals one-tenth the total railway tonnage of the United States. ‘ 






LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 49 


the condition, by reduction of freight rates to a point lower than that charged by any 
railways in the world, and the result is apparent in their financial condition. To 
pursue this policy further would work such prejudice to the enormous financial inter¬ 
ests in railways as to threaten a national danger. 

The fact that the waterway can safely introduce this economy of transportation 
where necessary and practicable, and that the railway can not safely go further in 
attempting it, is indicated from what both avenues of transportation are now doing. 
The average rate on freight on all railroads in the United States for 1896 was 8.21 
mills per ton per mile. 

The average trunk-line rate on heavy through freight is from 5 to 6 mills per ton 
per mile. 

The average rate on freight on the roads connecting Pittsburg with the lakes will 
exceed 6j mills. The ton-mile cost of moving freight on the Pennsylvania Railroad 
is estimated to be 3 T W, and the average rate is 5 T %% mills. 

The average rate of freight on tonnage passing through Detroit River in 1896 is esti¬ 
mated at eighty-five one-hundredths of a mill per ton per mile. Ore is now being 
carried by lake from Duluth to Ashtabula at 60 cents per ton, a rate of six-tenths 
mill per ton per mile. Coal is being carried by lake from Ashtabula and Buffalo to 
Duluth at 20 to 25 cents per ton, a rate of one-fourth mill per ton per mile. Coal is 
being carried from Pittsburg to New Orleans by Ohio and Mississippi rivers at a rate 
of about one-third of a mill per ton per mile. This should demonstrate the danger 
to capital invested in railway transportation from attempting to put down their 
charges to a point of competition with waterways, and also demonstrates the ability 
of a waterway to safely serve the public with the cheapest form of. transportation. 

Railways and Waterways. 

The following communication on this subject was forwarded to the statistical com¬ 
mittee, January 22, 1896, by S. A. Thompson, of Duluth, Minn., who is a recognized 
authority on waterways as the necessary agents in creating, fostering, and developing 
commerce: 

“ The advocates of waterway improvements are often asked, ‘What would become 
of the railways if your plans were carried out? Would they not all be driven into 
bankruptcy?’ ” 

To the railroad man it may seem ridiculous, and to the average citizen paradoxical, 
but the true answer to the question is that the improvement of waterways invariably 
benefits the contiguous railways, and the amount of the benefit is proportional to the 
extent of the improvement. It is my deliberate conclusion from a careful study of 
all attainable data that the best thing that can happen to a railway is to have a water¬ 
way running parallel to every mile of its track, and the greater the capacity of the 
waterway the better for the railway. 

The construction of canals in France was begun more than a hundred years before 
the birth of Christ, and neither foreign wars, domestic revolutions, nor the growth 
of the railway system has availed to stop tne improvement of French waterways 
from that day to this. There has been rivalry between railways and waterways in 
France, as there has been in the United States and elsewhere, but fortunately for 
France, the power of the State has prevented the destruction of one form of transpor¬ 
tation by another; but, on the contrary, has wisely brought about a systematic 
development of the whole trinity of transportation agencies, wagonways, railways, 
and waterways. 

The debate's in the Senate of France in 1863-1865 resulted in the declaration that it 
was to the interest of the State to foster both the railway and the waterway. This 
principle was reaffirmed in 1872, and again in 1878, when M. de Freycinet, in a 
report to the President of the Republic, used these words: “It is conceded that 
waterways and railroads are destined not to supplant, but to supplement, each other. 
Between the two there is a natural division of traffic. To the railroad goes the least 
burdensome traffic, which demands regularity and quick transit; to the waterways 
gravitate the heavy freights of small value, which can only be transported where 
freights are low. The waterways produce another result—they restrain and moder¬ 
ate the charges on the freights that prefer the railroads; they are to the railroad 
manager a standing notice not to pass the limit beyond which the merchant would 
not hesitate to sacrifice regularity to economy. ’ ’ 

In 1889 a proposition was made to restore tolls on the canals of France. The com¬ 
mittee to which the matter was referred quoted the language of M. de Freycinet, 
given above, and added: “The different rdles of the two kinds of transportation are 
thus defined, and experience has fully confirmed these predictions.” In proof of 
this statement the committee point out the fact that out of 196 waterways and parts 

II. Rep. 2946-4 



50 LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


of waterways enumerated in the statistics of inland navigation only 73 had, in 1887, 
a tonnage of more than 70,000 mile-tons, and every one of these was in close prox¬ 
imity to railroads, while the Northern Railroad Company, whose system traverses a 
region which contained 43 per cent of the boating capacity of France, was the only 
one that was not obliged to call upon the Government to pay the interest guaranteed 
upon its stock. 

“This shows,” says the committee, “that waterways, by increasing traffic, are 
rather the auxiliaries than the competitors of railroads, and that in procuring for 
manufacturers cheap transportation for coal and raw material they create freights 
whose subsequent transportation gives profit to the railroads.” 

Equally interesting and conclusive are some of the lessons to be learned from the 
experience of Germany. In this country is to be found the greatest railway mileage 
under one management in the world; for out of a total of 16,281 miles of road, on 
July 1, 1888, 14,665 belonged to the Government. Yet the Reichstag, in 1887, passed 
an act providing for the construction of nearly 1,500 additional miles of canals and 
canalized rivers, although there were then finished and in use 1,289 miles of canal 
and 4,925 miles of navigable rivers. 

Does anyone believe that the German Government would expend millions of marks 
out of the national treasury for the construction of waterways if the result would be 
to reduce the revenues of the Government from the railways? Or will American 
railway men, who, with a few honorable exceptions, are literally hostile to waterways, 
claim that the German Government did not know what it was about? As a matter 
of fact, that Government was acting in the light of more than fifty years of observa¬ 
tion on the effect of railways and waterways upon each other, and knew that the 
surest and speediest way to increase the revenues of the railways was to improve the 
waterways. 

The most flourishing railway lines in the Empire are those which run along the 
banks of the most frequented rivers, the Elbe and the Rhine. Take, for example, 
the statistics of the traffic of Mannheim on the Rhine, as shown by the following 
table: 


Year. 

Traffic. 

By the 
Rhine. 

By rail. 

1860 . 

Tons. 
242,000 
368,000 
415,000 
772,000 
963,000 
1,603,000 
1,920,000 

Tons. 
218,000 
472,000 
339,000 
768,000 
806,000 
1,117,000 
1,400,000 

1865. 

1870. 

1875..:. 

1880 . 

1884 . 

1887 . 



According to a United States consular report, the tonnage of the river Main in¬ 
creased 64 per cent the first year, and 36 per cent the second year, after the canaliza¬ 
tion of that river from Frankfort to Mayence, while the railroads which run along 
each bank of the river, instead of going into bankruptcy, found their traffic increased 
38 per cent the first year and 56 per cent the second. 

Instances might be multiplied to any extent, but one more from our own country 
must suffice. The United States Government has been for some years improving the 
Great Kanawha River in West Virginia, by the construction of locks and dams. Two 
railroads run along the banks of this river, the Chesapeake and Ohio and the Kanawha 
and Michigan. The following table, taken from the report of Mr. A. M. Scott, the 
resident engineer, shows that the shipments of coal by rail have increased even more 
rapidly than the shipments by river, but does not show the full extent of the benefit 
to the railroads from this improvement, because it does not report the increased traffic 
in passengers and freight other than coal which has resulted therefrom. The table 
shows the shipments of coal, in bushels, from points below Kanawha Falls for the 
fiscal years ending June 30: 


Year. 

River. 

Rail. 

1881. 

9,628,696 
17,861,613 
25,761,346 
26,787,888 

6,631,660 
13,958,747 
28,668,025 
30,844,100 

1886. 

1891. 

1892. 






























LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 51 


I have searched transportation statistics for years, and I have failed to find a single 
instance in which waterway improvements have injured railway interests, or rather 
in which the waterway has failed to greatly benefit the railway. If anyone who 
reads these pages knows such an instance, he will confer a great favor if he will fur¬ 
nish it to the writer. 

MANUFACTURING. 

Ore Production. 

The following table, compiled from the report of Mr. J. M. Swank, secretary of 
the American Iron and Steel Association, gives, for the following years, the ship¬ 
ments of iron ore from Lake Superior ports by water and rail, the receipts at Lake 
Erie ports, and the quantity left on docks at Lake Erie ports at the close of navigation: 


Year. 

Lake Supe¬ 
rior ports, 
shipments. 

Lake Erie 
ports, 
receipts. 

Lake Erie 
ports, on 
dock. 

1890. 

Gross tons. 

9,012,379 
7,062,233 
9,069,556 
6,060,492 
7,748,932 
10,438,268 
9,657,921 

Gross tons. 

6,874,664 
4,939,684 
6,660,734 
5,333,D61 
6,350,825 
8,112,228 
8,026,432 

Gross tom. 
3,893,487 
3,508,489 
4.149,451 
4,070,710 
4,834,247 
4,415, 712 
4,954,984 

1891. 

1892. 

1893. 

1894. 

1895 1 . 

1896 2 . 



1 Total production United States, 1895,18,302,517 gross tons. 2 Marine Review. 


Deducting the total receipts at Lake Erie ports for 1895 from the total shipments 
from Lake Superior ports same year, the balance, 2,326,040 tons, represents ore 
shipped to Bay View and South Chicago and to a few other lake furnaces to which 
water shipments are made. 


Iron ore receipts at Lake Erie ports during five years past (gross tons). 


Ports. 

1892. 

1893. 

1894. 

1895. 1896. 

Toledo. 

139,987 
49,736 
65,000 
190,400 
1,950,224 
866,611 
2,555,416 
1,130 
645,230 
197,000 

145,515 
4,464 
137, 700 
165,667 
1,260,716 
792,517 
1,845,738 
203,207 
469,297 
308,238 

158,384 
23,043 
172,775 
150,424 
1,624,573 
976,222 
1,987,722 
237,905 
624,438 
395,339 

260,730 301,794 

12,361 58,667 

146,442 ; 226,515 

214,219 191,445 

2,312,370 2,313,170 

914,617 941,446 

2,474,791 1 2,272,822 

244,967 327,623 

811,989 1 847,849 

719,742 545,101 

Sandusky. 

Huron. 

Lorain.’. 

Cleveland. 

Fairport. 

Ashtabula. 

Conneaut. 

Erie. 

Rnffa.ln and Tnna.wa.nda. 

Total ... 

6,660,734 

5,333,059 

6,350,825 

8,112,228 ' 8,026,432 



Pig Iron Production. 

We give below, from the reports of Mr. J. M. Swank, secretary of the American 
Iron and Steel Association, the actual output of pig iron, in gross tons, for the years 
given in the States named, and total for the United States: 



1891. 

1892. 

1893. 

1894. 

1895. 

Pennsylvania . 

3,952,387 
1,035,013 
86,283 
669,202 
197,160 
1,226 
315,112 

4,193,805 
1,221,913 
154,793 
949,450 
174,961 
14,071 
310,395 

3,643,022 
875,265 
81,591 
405,261. 
131,772 
10,373 
191,115 

3,370,152 
900,029 
80,781 
604,795 
91,595 

4,701,163 

1,463,789 

141,968 

1,006,091 

148,400 

Ohio. 

West Virginia. 

Illinois . 

Wisconsin. 

innpontfl 

New York . 

175,185 

181,702 

Total . 

6,256,383 
8,279,870 

7,019,388 
9,157,000 

5,338,399 

7,124,502 

5,222,537 

6,657,388 

7,643,113 
9,446,308 

Total United States. 

Pennsylvania, per cent of United States.. 

47.9 

45.8 

51.1 

50.7 

49.8 
































































LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


50 

t) j-J 


I 11 the following table is given the production of Bessemer steel ingots by States 
from 1890 to 1895, in gross tons (J. M. Swank’s report): 


Y ear. 

Pennsyl¬ 

vania. 

Illinois. 

Ohio. 

Other 

States. 

Total. 

Pennsyl¬ 
vania, per 
cent. 

1890 . 

2,253,057 
2,048,330 
2,397,984 
2,126,220 
2,334,548 
2, 978,924 

757,814 
605,921 
879,952 
314,829 
581,540 
866,531 

361,933 
333, 666 
409,855 
348,141 
363,974 

1 719, 954 

316,067 
259,500 
480,644 
426,496 
291,251 
343, 719 

3,688,871 
3,247, 117 
4,168, 435 
3,215,686 
3,571,313 
4,909,128 

61.07 
63.07 
57.52 
66.12 
65. 37 
60.68 

1891. 

1892 . 

1893 . 

1894 . 

1895 . 


1 The increase in Ohio occasioned by the starting up of the new plants at Youngstown and Lorain. 

Production of the following products of iron and steel for the year 1895. ( Gross tons.) 

1 

[Compiled from J. M. Swank’s report.] 

• 

Crucible 

steel 

ingots. 

Open- 

hearth 

steel. 

Bessemer 
steel rails. 

Structural 
iron and 
steel. 

Plates and 
sheets. 1 

Total pro¬ 
duction 
rolled iron 
and steel. 2 

Pennsylvania. 

49,899 

904,352 
75,637 
49,500 
107,693 

864,499 

464,410 
18,417 

653,119 
163,066 
26,227 
149,047 

3,491,935 
893, 665 
626,342 
1,177, 632 

Ohio. 

Illinois. 


' 327,618 

107,511 

All other States . 

17,767 

35,093 

Total United States .... 

67, 666 

1,137,182 

1,299,628 

517,920 991,459 

6,189,574 

Pennsylvania per cent of 
United States . 

73.7 

79.5 

66.5 

90.0 

65.8 

56.4' 


1 Not including nail plate, skelp iron and steel. 

2 Includes all iron and steel rolled into finished forms; (1) iron and steel rails; (2) plate and sheet 
iron steel; (3) iron and steel plates for cut nails and spikes; (4) wire rods; (5) iron and steel structural 
shapes; (6) bar, bolt, hoop, skelp, and rolled axles. Hammered axles and other forgings not included. 


Iron and steel production of Allegheny County, Pa., for the years 1893, 1894, 1895, and 

1896. 

[Compiled from J. M. Swank’s report.] 


Details. 1893. 

1894. 

1895. 

1896. 

Pig iron. 

Tons. 
1,697,207 
1, 221,340 
324,499 
44,934 
1,019,503 
230,061 

Tons. 

1, 782,079 
1,509,389 
352,806 
31,471 
1,095,295 
255,313 

Tons. 
2,054,585 
1,886. *11 
481,030 
39,123 
1,462,623 
350,593 

Tons. 
2,061,269 
1,608,321 
569,680 
33, 596 
1,350,886 
324,296 

Bessemer steel. 

Open-hearth steel. 

Crucible and other steel.'.. 

Rails, bars, bolts, rods, shapes, hoops, and skelp. 

Plates and sheets. 

Total. 

4,537,544 

5,026,353 

6,274, 765 

5,948,048 



“In each of the four years mentioned Allegheny County made more pig iron, 
Bessemer steel, open-hearth steel, and crucible steel, than any State except Penn¬ 
sylvania, of which it forms a part. It also rolled more iron and steel each of these 
years than any State outside of Pennsylvania.” 

Allegheny County produced in 1896 over 23 per cent of the total production of 
pig iron in the United States; over 41 per cent of the total production of Bessemer 
steel ingots and castings; over 43 per cent of the total production of open-hearth 
steel ingots and castings; over 55 per cent of the total production of crucible steel; 
over 27 per cent of'the total production of Bessemer steel rails; over 61 per cent of 
the total production of structural shapes; over 33 per cent of the total production of 
plates and sheets, and almost 26 per cent of the production of miscellaneous rolled 
products not enumerated above. Of the total production of all kinds of rolled iron 
and steel, including rails, it made in 1896 over 30 per cent. It produced almost as 
much pig iron in 1896 as was made by the two States of Ohio and Illinois, and it also 
produced more rolled iron and steel in the same year than Ohio, Illinois, and 
Indiana. - - . ... 



































































LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


53 


COAL. 


Coal Production. 

TONNAGE MOVEMENT AND CONSUMPTION. 

The following statement describing the coal fields reached by the canal is taken 
from the annual report of the United States Geological Survey, prepared by E. W. 
Parker from the report of Maj. Jed. Hotchkiss and the reports of Professor Leslie 
and Joseph I). Weeks: 

“The Appalachian field, while not the largest in area, is by far the most important, 
furnishing about two-thirds of all the bituminous output. The field extends from 
the northern part of Pennsylvania in a southwesterly direction, following the Appa¬ 
lachian Mountain system, which it embraces, to the central part of Alabama. Its 
length is a little over 900 miles, and it ranges in width from 30 to 180 miles. Its 
area is about 62,690 square miles, covering nearly all of western Pennsylvania, the 
southeastern part of Ohio, the western part of Maryland, the southwestern corner of 
Virginia, nearly all of West Virginia, the eastern part of Kentucky, a portion of east¬ 
ern Tennessee, the northwestern corner of Georgia, and nearly all of northern 
Alabama. 

All of the coals are bituminous, except for a little anthracite in southwestern Vir¬ 
ginia (Montgomery County), and are of great variety in chemical composition and 
physical structure. It contains the famous Connellsville coking coal, the Clearfield 
and Pittsburg steam coals, the smithing coals of Blossburg and Cumberland, the gas 
coals of the Upper Potomac and Monongahela rivers, the Massillon and Hocking 
coals, the steam, gas, and coking coals of the Flat Top, New River, and Kanawha 
River regions, the Jellico coal of Kentucky and Tennessee, and the excellent coking 
coals of southeastern Tennessee and Alabama.” 

The following table of areas, carefully compiled from the best sources of informa¬ 
tion and therefore fairly accurate, shows how many square miles of this coal field 
belong to each of the nine States in which they are located, according to their rank 
in the holding of coal territory: 

Square miles. 


1. West Virginia. 17,000 

2. Pennsylvania. 12,300 

3. Ohio. 10,000 

4. Kentucky. 9, 000 

5. Alabama.. 6,000 

6. Tennessee.. 5, 000 

7. Virginia. 1,000 

8. Maryland. 550 

9. Georgia. 170 


Total area.. 61, 020 


Total area of above, as estimated by Joseph D. Weeks, is 65,000 square miles, and 
his report states: “ YVhile the coal all through this basin is usually a coking coal, as 
pointed out by Rogers many years ago, these coals increase in bituminous matter as 
they go westward, so that the coal of the Pittsburg seam, which in Cumberland has 
only some 18 per cent volatile matter, contains 30 per cent in the Connellsville 
region, 32 to 33 per cent in Pittsburg, and 35 to 38 per cent and even 40 per cent in 
Ohio. The veins also thin out as they go westwardly, which makes the mining 
more expensive. Referring to the example already given, the Pittsburg vein, which 
is the big vein at Cumberland, is sometimes 14 feet, in Connellsville 9 feet, in Pitts¬ 
burg 5 to 6 feet, and in Ohio 2? to 4 feet. Where the veins are thin, the percentage 
of ash, and especially the percentage of sulphur, is apt. to be much higher than in 
the thicker vein. For all these reasons, as stated above, the coals in the middle and 
western part of the Appalachian basin, as a rule, are not so good as those closer to the 
mountains.” 

Coal Fields in the Monongahela Valley. 

Practically all the coal mined in the Monongahela Valley is from the Pittsburg 
seam of coal, this being the chief seam in the upper productive measures. When 
the late Professor Rogers was making his well-known survey of the State of Pennsyl¬ 
vania, the Pittsburg seam and its associated strata were displayed to such advantage 
along the Monongahela River that in his geology these coal measures, including the 
Pittsburg seam, are called the Monongahela River series. Speaking of this bed, 













54 LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


Prof. I. C. White, in his report on the bituminous coal fields of Ohio and West Vir¬ 
ginia, says: “It is the most important mineral deposit of the Appalachian field.” 

Speaking of the importance of these coal measures, Professor Leslie says: “ If its 
underground constitution (that is, the strata in the neighborhood of Pitts 1 urg) were not 
Carboniferous, the city of Pittsburg, with its surrounding towns and villages, mines, 
mills and furnaces, dams, pools and steamboats, fleets of barges, trains of railroad 
cars, oil-well derricks, and gas pipe lines, would be simply a poet’s dream, and not 
the great reality in which its people glory.” He speaks of its wealth of coal as 
absolutely inexhaustible for several thousands of years, and states that the exhaustion 
of the mineral coal of this region is a practical impossibility. 

Speaking of the value of its coal, he also says that it depends “(1) on the superior 
quality of the coal; (2) on the unlimited quantity of it within easy reach; (3) on the 
exceptional facilities offered by the geological structure in mining operations, but not 
on the size of individual coal beds.” The size of the coal beds in the Pittsburg 
region is by no means remarkable. At Pittsburg it is about 6 feet, and it may be 
said to vary from this to 12 feet. The quality of the coal is stated to be “A No. 1,” 
and what is of greater importance, the Pittsburg coal beds along the Monongahela 
River can be opened in hundreds of collieries along both banks of the river for many 
miles, and in all their valleys and ravines. Professor Leslie estimates that the zigzag 
outcrop of this coal is not less than 2,000 miles, and this great bed lies mainly above 
drainage level. 

It is from this bed along the Monongahela and Youghiogheny rivers that the well- 
known gas coals, used so extensively in the gas works of the United States, are mined, 
as well as the well-known Pittsburg steam, domestic, and industrial coal, and the coal 
that makes the well-known Connellsville coke. 

This coal bed extends the entire navigable length of the Monongahela River, being 
cut out at points and of less value for certain purposes in parts of the river than in 
others. 


Production of coal in 1894 and 1895 in the Monongahela River counties. 


Counties. 

1894. 

1895. 

Pennsylvania: 

Allegheny..•. 

Tons. 

6,354,559 
3,461,428 
7,767,964 
6,440,989 

Tons. 

6,615,974 
3,577,260 
9,606,154 
9,665,369 

Washington. 

Westmoreland. 

Fayette. 

Greene... 

Total. 



24,024,940 

29,464,757 

West Virginia: 

Monongalia. 

79,558 

1,399,898 

67,510 
1,257,563 

Marion . 

Total. 

1,479,'456 

1,325,073 

Grand total.:. 

25,504,396 

30,789,830 



COAL PRODUCTION OF THE UNITED STATES IN 1895 AND 1896. 

The following table, compiled from the report of Mr. E. W. Parker, of the United 
States Geological Survey, gives the product and value of coal in the States named 
and total for United States for the years 1895 and 1896: 


States. 

1895. 

1896. 

Production. 

Value. 

Production. 

Value. 

Pennsylvania anthracite. 

Pennsylvania bituminous. 

Illinois bituminous. 

Ohio bituminous.... 

West Virginia bituminous. 

Alabama bituminous 1 . 

United States bituminous. 

United States total. 

Net tons. 
57,999,337 
50,217,228 
17,735,864 
13,355,806 
11,387,961 
5,693,775 
135,118,193 
193,117,530 

$82,019,272 
35,980,357 
14,239,157 
10,618,477 
7,710,575 
5,126,822 
115,779,771 
197,799,043 

Net tons. 
53,771,790 
49,750,041 
19,786,626 
12,875,202 
12,876,296 
5,745,617 
136,868,069 
190,639,859 

$81,415,785 
35,024,918 
15,809, 736 
10,253,461 
8,336,685 
5,171,055 
114,141,864 
195,557,649 


1 Each of the remaining States produces less than Alabama. 




















































LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 55 


In 1896 the total coal production of Pennsylvania was 59 per cent in amount, and 
60 per cent in value of the total product of the United States. 

The average price obtained for anthracite at the mines increased from $1.41 in 
1895 to $1.51 in 1896. The average price for bituminous declined from 86 cents to 
83 cents. 


Lake tonnage shipped from Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia mines during 1894; 

also the variety, and how it was distributed. 

[From report of Ohio mine inspector.] 


Ports. 


Pennsylvania. 


Anthra¬ 

cite. 


Bitumi¬ 

nous. 


Ohio, 

bitumi¬ 

nous. 


West 

Vir¬ 

ginia. 

bitu¬ 

mi¬ 

nous. 


Foreign 

ports. 


Domestic ports. 


An¬ 

thra¬ 

cite. 


Bitu¬ 

mi¬ 

nous. 


Anthra¬ 

cite. 


Bitumi¬ 

nous. 


Fuel 

for 

vessels. 


Total 
amount 
of lake 
coal. 


Buffalo, N. Y_ 

Erie, Pa.. 

Conneaut, Ohio . 
Ashtabula, Ohio 
Fairport, Ohio .. 
Cleveland, Ohio. 
Lorain, Ohio 
Huron, Ohio 
Sandusky, Ohio. 
Toledo, Ohio 


994,100 
423,128 


1,491,155 
288,800 
89,023 
669,735 
256,188 
777,964 
18,100 
2,840 


6,410 

877 


138, 362 
181,775 
178,995 
253,001 
816,779 


44,735 
81,187 
103,815 
31,760 
8,362 
19,453 


9,620 
5,664 
154 
70,036 
1,750 
93, 666 
20,025 
900 
7,561 
28, 700 


Total. 


1,417,228 


3,593,805 


1,568,912 


289,312 



987,690 
413,033 


1,481,535 

184.870 
77,388 

525,672 
298, 787 
686,887 

254.871 
202,366 
246,011 
743,263 


107,484 
11,481 
74,027 
386 
216,960 
28,794 
10,329 
7,791 
64,269 


2,485,255 
711,928 
89,023 
669,735 
300,923 
997,513 
303,690 
213,595 
261,363 
836,232 


400,723,4,701,650 


521,521 


6,869,257 


Note. —Shipments of anthracite and bituminous coal from all Lake Erie ports, Buffalo to Toledo, 
inclusive, during the season of 1896, amount in the aggregate to 8,941,327 net tons. Of this 3,175,722 
tons was anthracite and 5,763,605 was bituminous. The latter includes coal taken on for fuel by 
steamboats trading to the several Lake Erie ports. By a comparison with the preceding year the 
bituminous shipments are found to represent an increase of 1,543,692 tons. The footings also indicate 
a gain in the total shipments of 162,093 tons over 1895, and an increase of 2,072,070 tons when compared 
with 1894. Of the bituminous coal, sent to the lake ports during the year, 4,337,815 tons was from 
mines in Pennsylvania, 1,267,035 from Ohio, 159,117 from West Virginia, and 1,638 from Maryland. 
These shipments from Pennsylvania represent a gain of 1,755,828 tons, which is equal to 75.2 per cent 
of the entire year’s shipments', as against 61.1 per cent during 1895, 65.9 per cent during 1894, and 49.9 
per cent during 1893. 


Shipments of coal from Lake Erie ports for the years 1890, 1891, 1892, and 1893. 

[Ohio mine inspector’s report, 1893.] 


Ports. 

1890. 

1891. 

1892. 

1893. 

Buffalo. 

2,044,134 

2,365,895 

2,852,330 

2, 703,673 

Erie. 

rinnnp»iit . 

129,304 

586,990 

567,028 

625,023 
23,184 

Ashtabula. 

452,394 

386,375 

726.267 

787, 653 

Fairport. 

63,360 

66,914 

114,738 

234,089 

Cleveland. 

922,536 

1,016,487 

1,728,831 

1,512,308 

Lorain. 

227,181 

288,811 

351,168 

526,405 

Huron. 

150,000 

200,000 

240,000 

227,444 

Sanduskv. 

271,540 

157,571 

157,515 

195,276 

Toledo. 

940,000 

947,288 

858,935 

938,533 

Total.-. 

5,200,449 

6,016,331 

7,596,812 

7,773,588 


The Buffalo shipments are almost exclusively anthracite coal. 


COKE. 


Production in Connellsville District. 

The Connellsville district still remains the most important coke-prodncing center 
in the United States, and one of the most important in the world. The Connellsville 
coal basin is in the southwestern part of Pennsylvania, some 50 or 60 miles from Pitts¬ 
burg. According to a recent topographic survey, made by Mr. Kenneth Allen, civil 
engineer, for the H. C. Frick Coke Company, the basin has a length of 43.6 miles 
and an average width of 3.1 miles, or an area of 137 square miles. This entire terri- 












































































56 LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


tory is supposed to be underlaid with the Connellsville seam of coal, which is with¬ 
out a fault, the beds yielding from 8 to 10 feet of workable coal. On the basis of 137 
square miles there would be 87,680 acres of coal. There is not this amount now, 
however, as considerable of it has been worked out. 

It is estimated that the amount of coal land still remaining is somewhere about 
60,000 acres, which, at the usual average of this coal per acre, would leave about 
450,000,000 tons of coal still available in the Connellsville vein. There are in this 
district several other veins of coal lying under the Connellsville seam that will be 
available to make a coke much above the average of cokes when the Connellsville 
vein is exhausted, and the trough in which the Connellsville region is found extends 
both to the north and south, in which the same coal bed occurs, though the coal is 
not of the same high grade. 

By the proposed canal and the Monongahela River lake vessels can be brought to 
Pool No. 4, Monongahela River, within 10 miles of the Connellsville coke region, 
where they can be loaded for all the furnaces along the canal and for all lake ports to 
Duluth without change of cargo. 

The great preponderance of the unworked area of the Connellsville coal field lies 
in its southern half, or that nearest the Monongahela. The coal from the southern 
half of the territory is, generally speaking, available for coke making without the 
preliminary “ washing process, ’ ’ which seems to be necessary in the northern section 
in order to eliminate the excess of sulphur it contains. 

Coke production in the districts adjacent to the proposed canal in 1892. 


[Mineral Resources United States, 1893, p. 444.] 


District. 

Coal used. 

Coke pro¬ 
duced. 

Value of 
coke at 
ovens. 

Average 
price per 
ton. 

Yield of 
coal in 
coke. 

Connellsville. 

Upper Connellsville. 

Greensburg.•. 

Irwin . 

Pittsburg. 

Total, 1892. 

Short tons. 
9,389,549 
706,171 
15,005 
328,193 
292,357 

Short tons. 
6,329,452 
451,975 
9,037 
202,809 
176,365 

$11,598,407 
691,323 
13,173 
284,029 
376,613 

$1.83 
1.53 
1.46 
1.40 
2.14 

Per cent. 
67.4 
64 

60.2 

61.8 

60.3 

10,731,275 

7,169,638 

12,963,545 

1.67 

62.7 


Coke production in the districts adjacent to the proposed canal in 1898. 
[Mineral Resources United States, 1893, p. 443.] 


District. 

Coal used. 

Coke pro¬ 
duced. 

Value of 
coke at 
ovens. 

Average 
price per 
ton. 

Yield of 
coal in 
coke. 

Connellsville. 

Upper Connellsville. 

Greensburg. 

Irwin.. 

Pittsburg. 

Total, 1893. 

Short tons. 

7,095,491 
499,809 
29,983 
238,832 
357,400 

Short tons. 
4,805,623 
320,793 
18,393 
150,463 
216,268 

$7,141,031 
447,090 
26,303 
195,609 
438,801 

$1.49 

1.39 

1.43 

1.30 

2.03 

Per cent. 
67.7 
64 

61 

63 

60.5 

8,221,515 

5,511,540 

8,248,834 

1.53 

63.2 


The production of coke in Pennsylvania in 1896 was 7,356,502 short tons. Coal 
used, 11,124,610 short tons. Total value in New York, $13,182,859. 











































LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 57 
COMMERCE OF GREAT LAKES. 


Amount and growth of commerce through the St. Marys Falls Canal, in the time open each 
year, as compared with the Suez Canal, open all the year. 

[From traffic statement of St. Marys Falls Canal and returns of shipping and tonnage of Suez Canal.] 


Year. 

Suez Canal. 


St. Marys Falls Canal. 

Ships. 

Net ton¬ 
nage. 

Days 

open. 

Passages. 

Registered 

tonnage. 

Actual 

freight. 

1881. 

2,727 

4,136,799 

213 

4,004 

2,092,757 

Net tons. 
1,567,741 

1882 . 

3,198 

5,074,808 

227 

4,774 

2,468,088 

2,029,521 

1883 . 

3,307 

5, 775,861 

224 

4,315 

2,042.259 

2,267,105 

1884 . 

3,284 

5,871,500 

232 

5,689 

2,997,837 

2,874,557 

1885 . 

3,624 

6,335,752 

211 

5,380 

3,035,937 

3,256,628 

1886 . 

3,100 

5, 767, 655 

224 

7,424 

4,219,397 

4,527,759 

1887 . 

3,137 

5,903,024 

216 

9,355 

4,897,598 

5,494,649 

1888 . 

3,440 

6,640,834 

212 

7,803 

5,130,659 

6,411,423 

1889 . 

3,325 

6,800,854 

234 

9,579 

7,221,935 

7,516,022 

1890 . 

3,389 

6,853,637 

228 

10,557 

8,454,435 

9,041,213 

1891. 

4,206 

8, 699,020 

225 

10,191 

8,400,685 

8,888,759 

1892 . 

3,559 

7, 712,028 

233 

12,580 

10,647,203 

11,214,333 

1893 . 

3,341 

7,659,068 
8, 039,175 

219 

12,008 

8,949,754 

10,796,572 

1894 . 

3,352 

234 

14,491 

13,110,366 

13,195,860 

1895 ’. 

3,434 

8,448,383 

231 

17,956 

16,806,781 

15,062,580 

18961. 

3,409 

8,560,284 

232 

18,615 

17,249,418 

16,239,121 


1 1895 and 1896 figures include traffic of Canadian Canal at Sault Ste. Marie. 


In 1894 the gross receipts of the Suez Canal were $15,390,230.60, yielding on the 
Suez Canal shares for last year, after deducting tax, $18 per share net, or 18 per cent. 

Comparative statement of commerce through the St. Marys Falls Canal for the years 1890 to 

1895. 


Year. 

Iron ore. 

Coal. 

Other freight. 

Total freight. 

Coal and 
ore. 

Value of 
freight. 

1890 . 

Net tons. 
4,774,768 
3,560,213 
4,901,132 
4,014, 556 
6,548,876 
8,062,209 

Net tons. 
2,176,925 
2,507,532 
2,904,266 
3,008,120 
2,797,184 
2,574, 362 

Net tons. 

2,089,520 
2,821,014 
3,408,935 
3, 773,896 
3,849,800 
4,426,009 

Net tons. 
9,041,213 
8,888, 759 
11,214,333 
10,796,572 
13,195,860 
15,062,580 

Per cent. 

76.7 

68.3 

69.4 

65.4 

70.8 
70.6 

$102,214,948 

128,178,208 

135,117,267 

145,436,957 

143,114,502 

1891. 

1892 . 

1893 . 

1894 . 

1895 . 




As previously shown, the ore used in the canal district in 1895 was 6,978,017 tons, 
and of the bituminous coal going to upper lake ports in 1894 two-thirds, or 1,509,543 
tons, comes from Pennsylvania in the canal district, and assuming the same amount 
came from Pennsylvania in 1895 the ore and coal traffic of the canal district in 1895 
was 56.3 per cent of the total traffic of the St. Marys Falls Canal. 

Lake Superior commerce—A comparison of canal statistics for three years past. 

[Marine Review.] 


Vessels. 

Lockages . 

Tonnage: 

Registered 
Freight 1 2 .. 
Passengers 
Coal: 


Items. 


Designation. 


Number 
.do.. 


Season of 
1896. 


18,615 


Season of 
1895. 


17,956 
7,734 


Season of 
1894. i 


14,491 
6,431 


Net tons 

_do.. 

Number 


17,249,418 
16,239,121 
37,066 


16,806,781 
15,062,580 
31,656 


13,110,366 
13,195,860 
27,236 


Hard. 

Soft. 

Flour . 

Wheat. 

Grain other than wheat ... 
Manufactured and pig iron 

Salt. 

Copper. 

Iron ore. 

Lumber. 

Silver ore. 

Building stone. 

Unclassified freight. 


Net tons... 

_do. 

Barrels.... 
Bushels ... 

-do. 

Net tons... 
Barrels 
Net tons... 

_do. 

M feet B. M 
Net tons... 

_do. 

_do. 


397,210 
2,626,130 
8,882,858 
63,256,463 
27,448,071 

121.872 
237,515 

116.872 
7,909,250 

684,986 
240 
17, 731 
520,851 


440,477 
2,133,885 
8,902,302 
46,218,250 
8,328,694 
100,337 
269, 919 
107,452 
8,062,209 
740,700 
100 
23,876 
463,308 


532,870 
2,264,314 
8,965,773 
34,869,483 
1,545,008 
60,659 
237,461 
99,573 
6,548,876 
722, 788 
412 
21,417 
451,185 


1 United States canal only; Canadian canal did not open until late in 1895. 

2 Total freight from opening of navigation to October 1, 1897, was 13,589,183 tons. 





































































































58 LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


Estimated value of freight through United States and Canadian canals at Sault Ste. Marie 

during the season of 1896. 

[Marine Review.] 


Items. 


Coal: 

Anthracite. 

Bituminous. 

Flour. 

Wheat. 

Grain (other than wheat) 

Manufactured iron. 

Pig iron_ t .. 

Salt. 

Copper . 

Iron ore. 

Lumber. 

Silver ore. 

Building stone. 

Unclassified freight. 

Total. 


Designation. 

Quantity. 

Price per 
unit. 

Valuation. 

Net tons. 

397,210 

$4.75 

$1,886, 747. 50 


2,626,130 

2.50 

6,565,325.00 

Barrels. 

8,882,858 

3.85 

34,199,003. 30 

Bushels. 

63,256,463 
27,448,071 

.75 

47,442, 347.25 

.do. 

.39 

10, 704, 747.69 

Net tons. 

93, 924 

50.00 

4,696,200. 00 


27,948 

13.50 

377,298.00 

Barrels. 

237,515 

.75 

178,136.25 

Net tons. 

116,872 

200. 00 

23,374,400. 00 


7, 909,250 

3. 25 

25, 705,065.00 

M feet B. M. 

684,986 

12.50 

8,562,325.00 

Net tons. 

240 

112.00 

26,880.00 


17, 731 

10.00 

177, 310.00 


520,851 

60.00 

31,251,060.00 

195 146 849 49 


1 




“ From the column of largest cargoes it is ascertained that there were 135 steamers 
that carried in their largest load 2,000 tons and upward, and these 135 cargoes aggre¬ 
gated 336,300 tons and averaged 2,491 tons. There were 30 steamers which carried 
in their largest load 3,000 tons and upward, aggregating 100,924 tons and averaging 
3,364 tons; 14 that carried in their largest loads 4,000 tons and upward, aggregating 
61,756 tons and averaging 4,411 tons, and 7 that carried in their largest loads 5,000 
tons and upward, aggregating 36,132 tons and averaging 5,162 tons. There were 33 
sail vessels or tow barges that carried 2,000 tons and upward, aggregating 81,283 tons 
and averaging 2,463 tons; 13 that carried 3,000 tons and upward, aggregating 42,628 
tons and averaging 3,279 tons; 7 that carried 4,000 tons and upward, aggregating 32,607 
tons and averaging 4,658 tons, and 4 that carried 5,000 tons and upward, aggregating 
21,270 tons and averaging 5,318 tons.” 6 

Miles-ton report , season of 1896—Cost of carrying freight transported through United States 

and Canadian canals at Sault Ste. Marie. 

[Marine Review.] 


Items. 

Unit. 

Quantity. 

Coal. 

Net tons 

3,023,340 
8,882,858 
63,256,463 
27,448,071 
93,924 
27,948 
237,515 
116,782 

7,909,250 
684,986 
240 
17, 731 
520,851 

Flour . 

Barrels 

Wheat. 

Rnshels 

Grain (other than wheat) . 


Manufactured iron.. 

Net tons 

Pig iron... 


Salt. 

Barrel s 

Copper. 

Net tons 

Iron ore. 


Lumber. 

M feet B M 

Silver ore and bullion. 

Net tons. 

Building stone. 


Miscellaneous merchandise. 


Total. 







Price per 
unit. 


80.32 
.11 
.021 
.021 
1.40 
1.05 
.15 
1.95 
.82 
1.80 
2.33 
1.50 
2.30 


Amount. 


$967,468.80 
977,114.38 
1,581,411.57 
617,581. 60 
131,493.60 
29,345.40 
35,627.25 
227,900.40 
6,485,585.00 
1,232, 974.80 
559.20 
26,596. 50 
1,197, 957. 30 


13,511,615. 80 


1,^1 of fr f& ht Pfid was $13,511,615.80, which, divided by the total “unit tons,” 

13,582,641.886, su es the cost per mile per ton as ninety-nine one hundredths of a mill The average 
distance freight was carried was 836,% miles, which is 6 X % miles more than in 1895. g 





















































































LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 59 

Commerce of Detroit River , comprising staples only and only such as cleared from United 

States ports. 


[Compiled from the reports of Col. 0. M. Poe.] 


Coal. 

Iron ore 
and fin¬ 
ished iron. 

Coal. 

Lumber. 

Flour and 
grain. 

Total 

freight. 

Vessels. 

Registered 

tonnage. 

1891. 

Tons. 
6,855,097 
7,721,601 
6,800,521 
6,448,445 
8,451,688 

Tons. 

6,335,841 
7,318,126 
6,921,303 
6,264,590 
7,834,942 

Tons. 
2,245,366 
2,130,000 
1,393,621 
2,150,000 
1,883,500 

Tons. 

5,364,405 
6,025,132 
5,476,928 
5,586,848 
5,256,125 

Tons. 

23,209,619 
26,553,819 
23,091,899 
24,263,868 
25,845,679 

34,251 
33,860 
33,165 
34,800 

22,160,000 
24,785,000 
23,091,889 
26,120,000 

1892. 

1893.. 

1894. 

1895. 





Number of vessels and tonnage given is exclusive of Canadian vessels. 

Reports received at United States engineer’s office, Detroit, up to June 30, 1897, indicate the com¬ 
merce for the year 1896 will foot up about 28,000,000 tons. 


Clearances at all lake ports. 


Year. 

Vessels. 

Registered 

tons. 

1891. 

55,896 
60,340 
51,649 
54,758 

32,483,444 
37,402,916 
34,571,208 
37,565,229 

1892 .'. 

1893 . 

1894 . 



At the Deep Waterways Convention held in Cleveland September 24-26, 1895, 
Mr. William Livingstone, president of the Lake Carriers’ Association, speaking of 
the commerce passing the Detroit River, said: “Astonishing as it may seem, for the 
entire eight months of the sailing season one vessel in every seven and one-half 
minutes passed that point on an average.’.’ 

As previously shown, the ore used in the districts reached by the canal transported 
by rail from Lake Erie ports, and the coal also transported by Vail from the Pittsburg 
district to Lake Erie ports for upper lake ports, furnishes over one-third the entire 
commerce of the Detroit River; and adding the coke required by the lake furnaces, 
which would be carried by the canal, and the lumber and heavy products of iron 
and steel that at present would seek this route, if opened, would furnish over one- 
half the commerce of the Detroit River, and without taking into account the growth 
in traffic that would result from the lower cost of these commodities at points of 
consumption, it is apparent from Mr. Livingstone’s statement, the size of canal and 
the facilities with which it must be equipped to handle, not only the present business, 
but meet the requirements of the future. 

In further speaking of the magnitude of lake commerce and shipping President 
Livingstone said: ‘ ‘ That this fleet would carry through the Detroit River, on the best 
estimate that can begot, from 35,000,000 to 40,000,000 net tons of freight, of which two- 
thirds would be primary products going somewhere for manufacture; that this freight 
movement in less than eight months would be something like 30 per cent of the total 
freight movement of all the railroads in the United States for the entire year; that this 
fleet would include 39 per cent of the total steam tonnage of the United States; that 
the average size of its steamers would exceed the average size of the ocean marine of 
this country; that the cost of transportation by this fleet would be less than one-fifth 
of the cost of the mere moving of freight on the best equipped and busiest railroad of 
the United States, and less than one-ninth the average cost.” 

The Eleventh Census of the United States shows that the total traffic of all lake 
ports for the year 1889 was: Receipts, 25,936,132 toils; shipments, 25,266,974 tons; 
total, 51,203,106 tons. 

The above total for all lake ports is divided into four classes, and the percentage of 
each is as follows: 

Per cent. 


Products of mines and quarries. 54. 22 

Lumber. 24. 97 

Animal products. .24 

Products of agriculture. 16. 41 

Miscellaneous. 5. 76 


Coal and iron ore largely make up the products of the mines and quarries, and it 
is apparent the important factor they are in the commerce of the lakes, and the 




































60 LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


important part taken by the interior districts reached by the canal in creating the 
coal and iron ore traffic'of the Great Lakes. 

Average distance for which freight is carried on the Great Lakes is 566 miles. 
Total ton mileage for 1889 was 15,518,360,000 ton miles. The aggregate ton mileage 
of railways of United States for 1889 was 68,727,223,146, which shows that the ton 
mileage of the lakes is equal to 22.6 per cent of the total ton mileage of railways in 
the United States. In no other way could the relative importance of lake commerce 
be more effectively shown. 

Assuming an average trip of 566 miles, in 1890 the ton mileage would be 18,849,- 
681,384. rhe ton mileage of the railways of the United States for the year endin 
June 30, 1890, was 76,207,047,298. Ton mileage of Great Lakes by water equals 24. 
per cent of that of the railways of the United States. 


LAKE SHIPPING. 


Particulars op Lake Steamers. 

[Furnished by Gen. H. L. Abbott, United States Army. ] 

The following are from the twenty-sixth annual list published by the Bureau of 
Navigation, Treasury Department, under date of October, 1894: 


Name. 

Net tons. 

Length. 

t 

Breadth. 

Depth. 

Year. 

Merchan t steam . 






Centurion. 

2,728 

360 

45.2 

21.9 

1893 

Chemung.,. 

1,943 

326 

41.2 

14.8 

1888 

Christopher Columbus... 

946 

362 

42.0 

24.0 

1893 

Ferd. Schleisinger. 

2,081 

306 

43.4 

20.7 

1891 

Harrv H. Brown. 

1,874 

351 

41.0 

21.6 

1894 

Jas. B. Colgate. 

1,318 

308 

38.0 

24.0 

1892 

Kearsarge. 

2,721 

329 

44.2 

23.0 

1894 

Mariposa. 

2,307 

330 

45.2 

20.3 

1892 

Mari tan a. 

2,430 

330 

45.2 

20.3 

1892 

Owego. 

1,940 

326 

41.2 

14.6 

1888 

Maryland. 

1,892 

316 

42.0 

20.4 

1890 

Merida. 

2,609 

360 

45.0 

20.8 

1893 

Pathfinder. 

1,762 

340 

42.0 

25.0 

1892 

Pillsbury. 

1,571 

320 

42.0 

25.0 

1892 

Pontiac. 

1,788 

300 

41.0 

12.4 

1889 

S. S. Curry. 

2,608 

360 

45.0 

20.8 

1893 

St. Paul. 

804 

300 

36.3 

6.2 

1883 

Selwin Eddy. 

2,164 

343 

42.2 

21.6 

1893 

Shenandoah . 

1,880 

308 

43.0 

21.0 

1894 

Spokane . 

1,975 

312 

38.2 

20.8 

1886 

Thomas Cranage. 

1,856 

305 

43.0 

20.7 

1893 

Thomas Wilson. 

1,318 

308 

38.0 

24.0 

1892 

Vega. 

1,734 

301 

38.5 

21.1 

1892 

W. H. Gilbert. 

2,200 

328 

42.5 

20.5 

1892 

Washburn. 

1,572 

320 

42.0 

25.0 

1892 

William H. Tratwick_ 

2,202 

328 

-42.5 

20.5 

1893 

Yuma. 

1,829 

323 

42.2 

18.9 

1893 

Iron and steel. 






Alva. 

E. C. Pope. 

2,000 

2,064 

324 

317 

42.0 

42.2 

19.6 ' 
20. 5 

1893 

1891 

Emily P. Weed. 

1,900 

300 

41.0 

21.0 

1890 

North West. 

2,340 

359 

44.0 

23.2 

1894 

Sagamore. 

1,557 

308 

38.0 

24.0 

1892 

Samuel Mather. 

1,318 

' 308 

38.0 

24.0 

1892 

Susquehanna . 

2,247 

302 

40.0 : 

16.0 

1886 


Home port. 


Port Huron. 

Buffalo. 

Marquette; whaleback. 
Milwaukee. 

Detroit. 

Buffalo. 

Cleveland. 

Do. 

Do. 

Buffalo. 

Milwaukee. 

Detroit. 

Cleveland. m 
Marquette. 

Do, 

Cleveland. 

Chicago. 

Port Huron. 

Do. 

Cleveland. 

Port Huron. 

Buffalo. 

Cleveland. 

Detroit. 

Marquette. 

Cleveland. 

Do. 


Cleveland. 

Port Huron. 
Suspension Bridge. 
Marquette. 
Cleveland. 

Buffalo. 

Do. 


The following figures were given me by Mr. Vance, a well-known authority in 
such matters in Milwaukee. Two twin vessels recently built in Chicago, and per¬ 
haps the largest afloat on the lakes at present, are the Zenith Gitif and the Victory. 
Their length of keel is 380 feet, and over all 400 feet. Their beam is 48 feet Their 
depth is 28 feet. Their gross tonnage is 3,800 tons, and their net tonnage probably 
about 3,300 tons. The \ale, now building at Cleveland, is 385 feet long and 45 feet 

‘ ‘ 1 ai U informed by the Globe Iron Works at Cleveland that they are now building 
a vesse 1 having a keel length of 412 feet, a length over all of 432 feet, abeam molded 
of 4< feet, and a depth of 28 feet. Ihe exact tonnage is not yet computed, but they 

19 feet ^ b ° Ut b ’°°° Det t0nS ° n a dmft ° f 18 feet> and about ’ 6 > 500 tons on a draft of 

































































LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 61 


Particulars of steamers for the Lake Erie and Ohio River Ship Canal. 
[Furnished by Globe Iron Works, Cleveland, Ohio.] 4 







Draft, light. 

Height 

1 

Height 

of 

Height 

of 

, Name. 

Over all 
length. 

Beam. 

Gross 

tonnage. 

Molded 

depth. 

For¬ 

ward. 

Aft. 

pilot 
house 
above 
light 
W. L. 

smoke¬ 
stack 
above 
light 
W. L. 

highest 
spar 
above 
light 
W. D. 

Spokane. 

/ // 

267 0 

/ n 

38 0 

1,741.90 

1,878.10 

2,364.35 

/ // 

24 0 

/ // 

3 2 

t n 

8 1 

t n 

45 6 

/ // 

47 0 

t n 

128 

Cambria. 

Corsica. 

. 300 6 

308 6 

39 0 

40 0 

24 0 
24 0 

3 6 

3 7\ 

8 4 

8 51 

44 0 
44 3 

47 6 

48 6 

107 0 

108 0 

Corona. 

308 6 

40 0 

2,364.35 

24 0 

3 7-J 

8 51 

44 3 

48 6 

108 0 

North Wind. 

308 6 

40 0 

2,476.35 

24 6 

3 61 

7 5 

42 9 

51 0 

115 0 

Northern King.. 

308 6 

40 0 

2,476.35 

24 6 

3 61 

7 5 

42 9 

51 0 

115 0 

Northern Queen. 

308 6 

40 0 

2,476.35 

24 6 

3 61 

7 5 

42 9 

51 0 

115 0 

Northern Wave.. 

308 6 

40 0 

2,476.35 

24 6 

3 61 

7 5 

42 9 

51 0 

115 0 

North Star. 

308 6 

40 0 

2,476.35 

24 6 

3 61 

7 5 

42 9 

51 0 

115 0 

Seneca . 

306 8 

40 0 

2,669.47 

25 6 

4 6 

8 9 

41 6 

47 6 

'98 0 

Vulcan. 

275 6 

37 0 

| 1,759.08 

23 0 

3 3 

7 9 

40 6 

42 9 

113 6 

Parks Foster .... 

278 3 

38 0 

1 1,729.69 

23 0 

3 4 

8 0 

43 6 

49 6 

108 0 

Castalia. 

308 6 

40 0 

| 2,512.53 

24 6 

3 8 

8 6 

44 6 

48 6 

108 6 

Saranac . 

306 8 

40 0 

2,669.47 

25 6 

4 6 

8 9 

41 6 

47 6 

98 0 

Manola. 

308 6 

40 0 

| 2,325.99 

24 6 

3 8 

8 6 

41 6 

48 6 

108 6 

.Mariska. 

308 6 

40 0 

2,325.99 

24 6 

3 8 

8 6 

44 6 

48 6 

108 6 

Tuscarora. 

306 8 

40 0 

! 2,669.47 

25 6 

4 6 

8 9 

41 6 

47 6 

98 0 

German. 

312 6 

40 0 

2,314.48 

24 6 

3 6 

7 8 

44 9 

47 0 

95 0 

Samuel Mitchell. 

310 0 

40 0 

2,277.60 

24 6 

3 5 

7 7 

44 6 

47 0 

104 6 

Schuylkill. 

293 0 

40 0 

1,819.96 

26 0 

1 8 

9 11 

43 0 

50 6 

99 6 

Vega. 

302 3 

38 0 

2,143.57 

24 0 

3 4 

8 3 

45 6 

48 7 

102 0 


The following particulars of lake steamers were furnished January 3, 1896, by 
William Livingstone, president of the Lake Carriers’ Association: 

The steamers John Owen , Manchester , Thos. W. Palmer , and Livingstone are four 
steamers whose dimensions I will give you exactly, and they are very typical steamers 
of their size. Their length of keel is 280 feet, molded breadth 41 feet, molded depth 
22£ feet, draft light forward about 4 feet, draft light aft about 9 feet 6 inches. Their 
gross registered tonnage is 2,230 tons. Their dead-weight cargo capacity on 16 feet 
draft is 3,000 tons. 

The height of their pilot house above the light water line is 43 feet. The height of 
their smokestacks above the light w T ater line is 49 feet. The height of their forward 
and main masts from the light water line to the masthead of main spar is 91 feet, and 
from the light water mark to the truck of the foremast is 127| feet. The topmasts, 
by the way, are fixed, but they could be arranged to be hoisted, but even in hoisting 
they would project above the masthead a few feet. 

I have taken the above boats because I knew the dimensions exactly, but the 
smokestacks of nearly all the modern lake freighters do not vary much. They would 
be from 46 to 50 feet in height above the light water mark. The pilot houses are 
nearly all in the neighborhood of 40 to 45 feet above the light water mark, and while 
quite a number of the steamers have light pole spars now, there are very few of 
them in which the spars will not be at least 100 feet above the light water line, while 
very few exceed 135 feet.” 

The total number of steam vessels on the Great Lakes January 1, 1895, was 1,751, 
and the number of steam vessels of 1,000 gross tons capacity and upward is as 
follows: 


Bet ween 1,000 and 1,500 gross tons 
Between 1,500 and 2,000 gross tons 
Between 2,000 and 2,500 gross tons 
Between 2,500 and 3,000 gross tons 
Between 3,000 and 3,500 gross tons 
Between 3,500 and 4,000 gross tons 
Between 4,000 and 4,500 gross tons 


123 

119 

93 

20 

4 

0 

2 


Total..... 361 

There are now building in the various shipyards on the Great Lakes a number of 
steel vessels ranging from 375 to 415 feet in length, of such dimensions as to carry 
about 4,000 tons on 14£ feet of water. 





















































62 


LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


LAKE, RIVER, AND COAST SHIPPING COMPARED. 

The annual report of the United States commissioner of navigation, Mr. E. T. Cham¬ 
berlain, indicates the great progress of merchant shipbuilding on the lakes. The 
statistics do not refer to war vessels. During the year ending June 30, 1896, lake ship¬ 
yards turned out 117 vessels, of 108,782.38 gross tons, while the tonnage of ships built 
during the same period on the entire seaboard—Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf coasts— 
was only 102,544. On June 30 the number of iron and steel vessels owned on the 
lakes was 226, of 380,987.49 gross tons. The average tonnage of iron and steel vessels 
owned on the lakes is, therefore, 1,686.05. On the same date there were on the 
Atlantic coast 650 iron and steel vessels, but the total gross tonnage was only 628,448.92, 
so that the average is only 951.46 gross tons. On the date referred to the number of 
vessels of all kinds owned in all parts of the country was 22,908, of 4,703,880 gross tons. 
Of this total, 3,333 vessels, aggregating 1,324,067.58 gross tons, were owned on the 
lakes. In the tables that follow comparisons are made for a number of years past 
and the tonnage of different lake customs districts given in detail: 

Statement showing class , number, and tonnage of iron and steel vessels owned in the United 

States on June 30, 1896. 


[Marine Review.] 


Districts. 

Sail. 1 

Steam. 

Total. 

Number. 

Gross ton¬ 
nage. 

< 1 

Number. 

Gross ton¬ 
nage. 

Number. 

Gross ton¬ 
nage. 

Atlantic and Gulf coasts... 

30 

2 

37 

30,938.74 
4,626.20 
50,288. 73 

620 

43 

189 

36 

597,510.18 
68,625.18 
330, 698. 76 
7,278.40 

650 

45 

226 

36 

628, -448. 92 
73,251.38 
380,987.49 
7,278.40 

Pacific coast. 

Northern lakes. 

Western rivers. 

• Grand total. 



69 

85,853. 67 

888 

1,004,112.52 

957 

1,089,966.19 



1 Including barges. 


A umber and tonnage of vessels of all kinds owned in the different customs districts on the 

lakes on June 30, 1896. 


[Marine Review.]. 

Ports. 

Customs districts. 

Number. 

1 Gross ton- 


L 


nage. 

Cleveland. 

Cuvahoga . 

0A7 


Buffalo. 

Buffalo Creek 

ZD/ 

QQO 

2/1, b09. 59 

Port Huron. 

Huron. 

OOO 

a a a 

191, 833. 81 

Detroit. 

Detroit 


204,002. /8 

Milwaukee. 

Milwaukee 

zoy 

167,197.15 

Chicago. 

Chicago 


91,627.23 

Plattsburg. 

Champlain 1 

Zo4 

/l, /93.40 
36,357.99 

Marquette. 

Superior 

oOo 

Sandusky. 

San dusk v.. 

104 

72,5/7. 40 
46,375.00 

Grand Haven. 

Michigan.. 

yo 

279 

Erie. 

Erie .. 

33,935.9 / 
38,671.72 

Ogdensburg . 

Oswegatchie 

DO 

Oswego. 

Oswego. 

51 

23,576.74 

Toledo. 

Miami_ 

40 

8,578.25 

Suspension Bridge. 

Niagara ... 

80 

27,905.99 
2,369.33 

Burlington. 

Vermont . 

/ 

29 

Rochester. 

Genesee ... 

4, 767.58 

Cape Vincent. 

Cape Vincent 

10 

56 

1,12/./8 

Duluth. 

Duluth 

3,623.65 
26,078. 73 

Dunkirk. 

Dunkirk. 

80 

Total... 


2 

57. 49 

1,324,067.58 



o, 666 


1 Largely canal vessels. 























































































LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 6& 

Number and tonnage of vessels of all kinds owned in the United States on June 30, 1896. 

[Marine Review.] 


Districts. 

Number 
of vessels. 

Gross ton¬ 
nage. 

Atlantic and Gulf coasts. 

16,786 
1,560 
3,333 
1,229 

2, 667,314.43 
437,971. 64 
1,324,067.58 
274,526.84 

Pacific coast. 

Northern lakes. 

Western rivers. 

Grand total. 

22,908 

4,703,880.49 

Sailing vessels. 

07 A 1 1 QOS OAQ 40 

Steam vessels. 

6,595 

682 

1,357 

2,307,207.91 
75,224. 54 
393,187.61 

Canal boats. 

Barges . 

Grand total. 

22,908 

4,703,880.49 



1 Largely canal vessels. 

Gross tonnage of vessels of all kinds built in the United States during ten years past. 

[Marine Review.] 


1887 

1888 

1889 

1890 

1891 

1892 

1893 

1894 

1895 

1896 


Year ending June 30— 

On the 
Great 
Lakes. 

On the 
New Eng¬ 
land coast. 

On the entire 
seaboard, in¬ 
cluding New 
England coast. 

On the Mis¬ 
sissippi River 
and its 
tributaries. 

Total. 


56,488 
101,103 
107,080 
108,526 
111,856 
45,969 
99,271 
41, 985 
36,353 
108,782 

24,035 
33,813 
39,983 
78,577 
105,491 
60, 624 
37,091 
28,665 
26, 783 
39,582 

83,061 
105,125 
111, 852 
169,091 
237,462 
138,863 
102,830 
80,099 
67,127 
102,544 

10,901 
11,859 
12,202 
16, 506 
19,984 
14,801 
9,538 
9, 111 
8,122 
15, 771 

150,450 
218,087 
231,134 
294,123 
369,302 
199,633 
211,639 
131,195 
111,602 
227,097 


Vessels of all kinds built on the lakes during five years past. 
[Marine Review.] 


Year ending June 30— 


1892 

1893 

1894 

1895 

1896 


Total 


Number. 

Gross 

tonnage. 

169 

45,968. 98 

175 

99, 271.24 

106 

41,984. 61 

93 

36,352. 70 

117 

108,782.38 

660 

332,359.91 


In the foregoing statistics no account is taken of yachts, lighters, or small boats employed within 
the harbor of any town or city, nor of canal boats or barges employed wholly upon internal waters 
of a State; neither do they include barges and boats plying on rivers or lakes of the United States 
and not engaged in trade with contiguous foreign territory and not carrying passengers. All vessels 
under 5 tons net are also excluded. 

COMMERCE OF OHIO RIVER. 

At the Ohio River improvement convention held at Cincinnati October 8 and 9, 
1895, a paper read by Col. Amos Stickney, United States engineer in charge of the 
Ohio River, states as follows: 

“The Ohio River is nearly 1,000 miles in length; the distance from its head, the 
confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers at Pittsburg, to its mouth at 
Cairo being 967 miles. In that distance the river surface at low water has a fall of 
about 424 feet, which, however, is by no means uniform, the fall being considerably 
greater in the upper part of the river and 27 feet of it being consumed in the falls at 
Louisville. The river bed is composed principally of gravel and sand, with solid 
rock in a few places. In the upper part of the river the gravel is heavy, with many 
bowlders. This gradually becomes lighter in descending the stream, and in the lower 
part the bed is mostly of sand, with some fine gravel, and in some places a hard, 
cemented gravel. 































































64 LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


The river for nearly its whole distance in low water is made up of pools and rip¬ 
ples. In the pools the water is often quite deep, with a comparatively small surface 
declivity and slow current, while on the ripples it is shallow, with sharp falls and 
great velocity of flow. In direction the river is quite tortuous, passing from one 
curve into another, the channel usually following the concave shore and crossing the 
river bed at each reversion of curvature. 

The water supply is extremely variable, which may be illustrated by the statement 
that the oscillation of water surface at Cincinnati from extreme low water to the 
greatest flood height is about 70 feet. 

In the study of the question of the improvement of the river for navigation there 
are many considerations to be kept in view r , such as the nature of the commerce to 
be benefited and the method of carrying it, the kind of channels required, the amount 
of water necessary and obtainable for these channels, and the kind of work neces¬ 
sary for producing and maintaining such channels. 

A very large part of the present commerce is the movement of the coal from the 
Monongahela and Kanawha rivers, which for economy in movement is placed in 
large tows composed of many vessels secured together and moved by one steamer. 
These tows are unwieldy, and therefore require large channels with easy curves. 
In addition to the coal, there is freight of every kind and description—ore, grain, and 
lumber, and the products of the mills and potteries and factories that line the banks 
of the river. This freight is carried in smaller tows and on steamers, and there are 
many packet lines that carry both passengers and freight. This commerce does not 
require as large channels as the coal tows, because the vessels are more easily and 
quickly handled. 

The commerce of the river during the year ending December 31, 1894, as ascer¬ 
tained in my office, amounted in round numbers to 7,800,000 tons, which is much 
greater than that of any other inland waterway in this country excepting two, one 
of which is the pathway of the great lake commerce and the other is the Hudson 
River. To express the magnitude of this commerce of the Ohio River more clearly 
I will use the familiar method of comparing it to railroad carriage. It would require 
to carry it 13,000 trains of cars, supposing each train to be composed of 30 cars, each 
loaded with 20 tons. This is for the river in its present condition. What the com¬ 
merce would be with a thoroughly improved river and a constantly and rapidlv 
increasing population in its valley I leave you to conjecture. 


Transportation on Ohio River and its tributaries above Cincinnati. 
[Eleventh Census bulletin, July 6, 1891.] 


Rivers. 

Vessels. 

Tonnage. 

Value. 


713 

3,458 

66 

51 

23 

811 

92 

162,961.51 
1,974,414.46 
5,006.34 
5,319.67 
3,392.18 
370,258.08 
5,062.67 

$2,719,010 
2,623,575 
71,840 
43,940 
22,865 
579,083 
51,500 

Monongahela. 

Allegheny. 

Muskingum. 

Little Kanawha. 

Great Kanawha. 

Big Sandy. ; 

Total. 

5,214 

2,526,414. 91 

6, 111, 813 



A larger tonnage of vessels than Great Lakes, although largely employed in low-grade 
The value per ton of equipment is $1.17. The average value per ton on Great Lakes is $53. 


freights 


Commerce of Ohio River at Davis Island Dam for the year 1894. 


Vessels. 

Ascending. 

' Descending. 

Total 

freight. 

Number. 

Freight. 

Number. 

Freight. 

Packets. 

339 
1,254 
' 43 

498 
3,079 
1,262 

1 

119 

Tons. 

20,916 

335 

1,272 

60 

1,225 

3,025 

1,420 

43 

145 

Tons. 

32,678 

Tons. 

53,594 

Towboats . 

Model barges. 


42,123 
1,109,512 
1,567,022 
197,919 
150,135 

42,123 
1,109,512 
1,576,246 
213,493 
150,635 
200 

Coal boats. 


Barges. 

9,224 
15,574 
500 
200 

Flats. 

Rafts. 

Miscellaneous. 

Total. 

6,595 

46,414 

7,525 

3,099,389 

3,145,803 






















































LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 65 


Commercial statistics of Davis Island Dam, Ohio River, for the calendar years 1895 and 1896. 

1895. 


Vessels. 

Ascending. 

Descending. 

Total 

freight. 

Lock. 

Pass. 

Lock. 

Pass. 

No. 

Tons. 

No. 

Tons. 

No. 

Tons. 

No. 

Tons. 

Tons. 

Packets. 

Towboats. 

56 

146 i 
21 
28 
174 
193 

1 

35 

3,946 

133 
812 
30 f 
440 ! 
1,977 
605 

37 

15,601 

56 

134 

2 

3,549 

126 

874 

54 

1,238 

2,493 

907 

26 

50 

16,555 

39,651 

Model barges. 

Coal boats. 



1,200 

31,125 
1,114,200 
1,304,124 
117,000 
155,200 

32,325 
1,114,200 
1,321,484 
139,640 
160,698 

Barges. 

Flats . 

Rafts. 

Miscellaneous. 

684 

672 

500 

4,676 

4,968 

24 

155 

26 

70 

12,000 
17,000 
4,998 

Total. 






654 

5,802 

4,034 

25,245 

467 

38,747 

5, 768 

2,738,204 

2,807,998 


1896. 


Packets. 

69 

6,715 

265 

24,745 

73 

6,770 

257 

28,046 

66,276 

Towboats. 

293 

1,326 1 

210 

1,378 

Model barges. 

24 

1,800 

42 ! 



52 

29,800 
1,401,300 
1,976,859 
220,176 

31,600 

1,401,300 

2,006,184 

254,456 

51,943 

Coal boats ... 

158 

566 




1,557 

Barges. 

668 

700 

3,301 

22,195 

15 

6,430 

3,831 

Fiats . 

405 

5,950 

1,124 

10,592 

217 

17,738 

1,676 

Rafts . 

1 

800 

21 

51,143 

M i sf'fdl fl n pniiK 

58 


153 

|. 

73 

170 








Total. 

1,675 

15,165 

| 6,777 

57,532 

589 

31,738 

8,942 

3,707,324 

3,811,759 



WHALEBACK VESSELS AND THE CANAL. 




From a correspondence with Mr. Alexander McDougall, the inventor of the whale- 
back steamer and manager of the American Steel Barge Company, we quote the 
following statements relating to this subject: 

“There are 35 whalebacks in the lake country now which were built by this com¬ 
pany. About one-half of them are 262 feet long, 36 feet beam, and 22 feet depth of 
hold; their turrets, one at each end, are elevated, above this 22 feet, 16 feet. The 
other half of the boats are from 300 to 340 feet long. The first class are intended to 
be of the size to accommodate the new Canadian canals which are now being built at 
a cost of about 5560,000,000. We think our type of vessel draws less water (consorts 
when loaded drawing 3| feet and can load to 18 feet), and cost of transportation by 
them is cheaper than any other class of vessel already in use. 

“A steamer towing two consorts makes the round trip from Duluth to Ashtabula 
in about twelve da vs with a cargo of about 6,500 tons in the three. My idea of your 
canal system from the lakes to Pittsburg is that it would not be necessary to have 
them larger than the Canadian canals, which are of uniform size, 270 feet long, 45 
feet wide, and 14 feet depth. In the future a great many vessels will be adapted for 
this trade, and the difference in cost on their 14 feet draft and that of the 18 feet 
draft aimed at by our deep lake channels will be very slight when steamers and 
barges are fitted specially for this purpose. I think a steamer and two consorts that 
will fill locks of the size you have adopted can be made to carry very nearly as 
cheaply as anything that will ever be built for short runs like the lake, river, and 
canal systems; this besides being of the general size adopted by the Canadian system,, 
and some vessels will do in either trade. 

“The steam whaleback that we have built, 320 feet long, 42 feet beam, carrying 
about 2,200 gross tons on 14 feet, consorts of the same class without power except for 
pumping, steam windlasses, etc., would carry about 2,500 gross tons on 14 feet. The 
same beam and depth might apply to vessels up to 340 feet long. The same depth 
of hold and turrets and that portion above water would be about the same in vessels 
of the 340-foot class as in those of the 262-foot class. When without cargo, the con¬ 
sorts to the top of their houses would be about 35 feet above water, while the steam¬ 
ers would be, to the top of the smokestack, about 55 feet above water, and the masts 
to carry lights on the steamers would necessarily have to be 60 feet above water.” 

It will thus be seen that for all classes of whaleback steamers they can pass under ■ 
the height for fixed bridges—namely, 45 feet—by hinging their smokestacks and 
arranging their topmasts for lowering to that elevation. 



H. Rep. 2946-5 




















































































66 


LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


COST OF CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF VESSELS OF THE WHALEBACK TYPE. 

Upon this subject Mr. McDougall says: “In regard to the cost and operating 
expenses of steamers and consorts 262 feet long, 36 feet beam, and 22 feet depth of 
hold, such vessels would carry, on 14 feet, a steamer 2,000 net tons (of 2,000 pounds) 
and the consorts or barges about 2,300 net tons each on 14 feet draft, and would cost 
about $42 per ton of their carrying capacity, with sufficient power in the steamer to 
tow two consorts loaded 8 miles an hour, or without cargoes 9£ miles an hour. It 
would cost to operate them in the lake trade about $42,000 per year, including all 
the operating expenses and insurance, repairs, and management, but not the cost of 
handling the cargo. The custom in the lake country is, ore cargoes the ship pays 
for trimming, cents; unloading, 15 cents. Most all other cargoes, except coal, are 
paid for at about these prices. Coal is always free to the vessel at both ends. Iron 
ore is classed as gross tons (2,240 pounds), while nearly all other freights are based 
upon 2,000 pounds. The figures and cost given you here would apply to smaller 
boats nearly in proportion, either for a 12-foot draft or less, if the boats were designed 
for that special size. 

“Taking as a basis our smaller class of whalebacks, 264 feet long, it would cost 
about the same to operate steamers or consorts up to 340 feet; and I think it would 
cost no more to carry cargoes by lake and canal with a much smaller vessel than 264 
feet long, if specially made of "a standard size and adapted for the canal and lake 
trade. We are to-day building in our yard four large ships of the whaleback type, 
of the following dimensions: One 404 feet, two 380 feet long, and one 360 feet long; 
but I do not expect to get any better results from them than the last steamer we 
turned out, which has to her credit the best record ever known, and she is only 320 
feet long. Where vessels are delayed or slowed on account of canal or other causes, 
their first high cost interferes with their cheap operating and net profits; and I am 
of the opinion that a smaller vessel than the regular lake carrier can be used for lake 
and canal trade more profitably than the large steamer of modern construction for 
lake trade. 

“ The great newspaper criticism of the large lake steamship and its great advan¬ 
tages over the small vessel have been overdrawn. I think they have reached the high¬ 
est point in size, and possibly too large on some of them for such a short run (less 
than 1,000 miles), and I am of the opinion that steamers and barges of the size first 
mentioned here, or even smaller, will show better net results on low rate of trans¬ 
portation than the very expensive large steamers, with their high valuation, recently 
built for the lake trade; and that a vessel adapted for even a 12-foot draft can be 
made a very profitable vessel for the lake trade, and particularly so should they 
become a standard size and built on modern ideas, and when fitted and intended for 
canal and lake trade. ’ ’ 

Suppose such a whaleback steamer and barges adapted to the canal and lake trade 
to be engaged in the ore and coal traffic between Duluth and Pittsburg; the following 
would fairly represent their earning power: 


890 miles lake, at 7 miles per hour.hours.. 127.14 

130 miles canal, at 4 miles per hour.do- 32. 25 

33 locks, at 20 minutes each.'.do- 11 

2 days at terminus, loading and unloading.do_ 48 


Total. 

Round trip. 

Round trip ... 

Number round trips in season (220 days) 


.do.... 218.39 

.do_ 436. 78 

.days.. 18.2 
. 12 


If we. allow 8 miles per hour on lake, twenty minutes at locks, and three days at 
each terminus, 12 round trips can be made in a season; or, if we allow 8 miles per 
hour on lake, thirty minutes at locks, and two days at each terminus, 12 round trips 


can be made in a season. 

Tons. 

Round-trip cargo (gross tons ore, 5,893; net tons coal, 6,600). 12, 493 

12 round trips per season. 149, 916 


Allowing the rate on ore in 1894, Duluth to Ashtabula, 80 cents, and 1 mill per ton 
per mile on ore and coal through the canal, 13 cents, and coal rate 1894, Ashtabula to 
Duluth, 372 cents, this would make the round-trip receipts on ore 93 cents, and 
deducting therefrom 18 cents for handling ore and trimming vessels, ore receipts 
would be 75 cents per ton, and on coal 50£ cents per ton. 













LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 67 


Receipts on ore each trip, 75 cents. 419 . 75 

Receipts on coal each trip, 50£ cents. * * ’ ’ ” 3 ’ 313 ’ 59 

Round-trip receipts. 7 ^ 739 . 25 

12 round trips per season—receipts. 92, 835. 00 

Cost of operating per season. 42 ’ ooo! 00 

^ P rofit -. 50, 835. 00 

Cost of vessels..... 250,000.00 


It has been claimed for the large 400-foot freight carriers recently built on the lakes 
that it is more profitable for them to carry only ore one wav and return light and 
increase the number of trips in the season between Lake Superior and Lake Erie ports, 
and the time lost in the canal would reduce her earning power below what she could 
earn running only between Ashtabula and Duluth. 

The Marine Review of November 21 , 1895, states: “There are now 25 new freight 
vessels in course of construction on the lakes, which will carry 1,476,000 tons next 
season, on 14-foot draft. Estimates as to the season’s capacity of the vessels are based 
on not more than 22 trips for the steamers that will run without consorts, and not 
more than 18 trips for the consorts. Twelve of the vessels enumerated range from 
375 to 415 feet in length, and in value from $225,000 to $275,000 each, and the esti¬ 
mated tonnage they will carry each for full season is from 72,000 to 84,000 tons.” 

The steamer Victory , one of the largest modern freight carriers, is 400 feet long, 
value about $250,000, and her full carrying capacity on present lake channels is about 
4,000 gross tons. Should such a vessel be employed in carrying ore alone between 
Duluth and Ashtabula, and allowing one day at each terminus, having cargo only 
one way, and averaging her round-trip speed for the season at 10 miles per hour, her 
record for the season would be approximately as follows: 


890 miles lake, at 10 miles per hour ..hours.. 89 

1 day at terminus...do_ 24 


Total.do_ 113 

Round trip. ...do_ 226 

Round trip.days.. 9.4 

Number round trips in season (220 days).. 23 

23 round-trip cargoes ore.1.tons.. 92,000 

Receipts after deducting cost, handling, etc., 62 cents.. $57, 040 

From above operating expenses for season to be deducted. 

Annual receipts, at 5,000 tons cargo each trip.. $71, 300 

Annual receipts, at 6,000 tons cargo each trip.$85, 560 


If the channels of the lakes were deep enough to allow her to load to 5,000 or even 
6,000 tons the above estimate would exceed the ability of the vessel for the season, 
for with a cargo of 6,000 tons her speed would be reduced and her time in port 
increased, and she could not make more than 20 round trips in a season, and her 
receipts for 20 cargoes of 6,000 tons would be $74,400. 

Should such a vessel carry round-trip cargo of 4,000 gross tons of ore and 4,500 net 
tons of coal, and make 20 round trips in the season, at 1894 rates on coal and ore 
between Duluth and Ashtabula, as given above, her receipts for the season would be 
$83,350, which is $9,485 less than the steamer and barges referred to by Mr. McDougall 
plying between Pittsburg and Duluth and making only 12 trips in the season. 

Vessels now engaged in the coal and ore traffic between the upper and lower lakes 
only secure a cargo of coal about every third trip, and it is not likely, with a 15-foot 
canal to the coal fields, the percentage of cargoes to be transferred at Lake Erie ports 
will be increased over the above average. It is more reasonable to presume that all 
coal cargoes will go through the canal and lakes without breaking bulk, and the ore 
cargoes do likewise. 

The above would indicate that the steamer and barges of the whaleback pattern, 
264 feet long and 36 feet beam, loaded, could pass through a 15-foot canal, and could 
operate between the ore fields of Lake Superior and the coal and coke fields of 
western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio, transporting over 6,000 tons each way, and 
at practically as low a cost per ton per mile as any vessel can accomplish on the lakes 
to-day, for they so frequently have to make the return trip light that the earning 
power of the vessel is thereby diminished; but the economy effected in the price of 
the coal and coke supply for the lake trade would be so great and the expanded 
markets -for these products would be so certain that vessels engaged in this trade 
























68 LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


would be insured full cargo both ways, and the earning power would be thereby 
greatly enhanced and the cost per ton per mile on cargo proportionately diminished. 
In addition to this, the vessels coming through the canal can secure their fuel direct 
at the mines, without the cost of rail transportation added to the lakes, which would 
be a material saving on the cost of fuel to vessels on the lakes, not coming through 
the canal, which saving would be from $1 to $ 1.10 per ton on fuel account. 

Shipbuilding on the Canal. 

The greatest number of mills in the country making plate and angle iron, out of 
which the whaleback vessels are built, are now located on the route of the proposed 
canal. Its construction and operation will lead to the inauguration of a new industry 
in the Pittsburg district, in the making of steel vessels for the lakes for the transpor¬ 
tation of commerce, and also for national defense in time of war and permit the 
construction of the class and type of vessels for commerce, and especially adapted to 
the traffic on the canal and on the Great Lakes. 


DOCK AND TRANSFER CHARGES. 

The cost of dockage and handling at Lake Erie ports is paid by the railroad com¬ 
panies and is part of the tariff rate on ore and coal received and discharged at the 
lake ports. The railroad companies own the docks and lease them to the dock com¬ 
panies, the latter usually being corporations organized for that purpose. Based on 
the rates charged for ore And coal during tfie years 1894 and 1895, the transfer 
charges at Lake Erie ports were about 20 cents per ton on ore and 15 cents per ton on 
coal. Where the ore was transferred direct from vessel to car without being placed 
on the dock the transfer charge was about 15£ cents. No coal is placed on dock, but 
is transferred direct from car to vessel. From 50 to 60 per cent of the ore coming to 
the furnaces in Pittsburg district the transfer is made direct from vessel to car; the 
balance would go on the dock and from there to car and be subject to the higher 
charges. It will thus be seen that the transfer charges on ore were from one-fifth to 
one-fourth the freight charges for carriage by vessel 890 miles, and on coal nearly 
half the freight charges for vessel carriage of coal the same distance. 

Since 1895 improvements have been made at various Lake Erie ports, with a view 
of lowering the cost of transfer of coal and ore. Appliances are now in use which 
lift a loaded car from the track and place it at an angle from which the coal runs by 
gravity direct into hoppers or chutes, and from thence into the hold of the vessel. 

In June, 1897, the rate on ore, including dock and transfer charges, from Lake Erie 
ports to Pittsburg is $1.05. This is where the ore goes from vessel to dock and from 
dock to car, and of this amount the dock companies receive about 20 cents. Where 
the ore is transferred direct from vessel to cars a rebate is made to the shipper which 
would cover the cost of the extra handling from stock pile to cars. The rate on coal 
from Pittsburg to Lake Erie ports is $1 per ton. Of this amount the dock companies 
receive 10 cents per ton and the railroads 90 cents per ton. 

As previously shown in the report, a rate of 38 cents a ton on ore and 33 cents per 
ton on coal and coke through the canal'would cover vessel rates while in the canal 
and a toll for the canal that would pay 9.60 per cent on its cost from present business 
being done between canal district and the lakes, in those three items of commerce 
alone. 

Mr. A. J. Moxham, in a paper read before the Deep Waterways Convention in 
Cleveland, September 24,1895, states: “On grain the cost of transfer has lately been 1| 
cents per bushel at Buffalo, while the lake freight from Duluth to Buffalo—the 
longest haul on the same grain—was 2 f cents per bushel, and from Chicago If cents 
per bushel. This is supplemented by a further transfer to ocean steamer at New 
York at a cost of If cents per bushel; the two transfers thus equaling the freight on 
800 miles. 

Careful estimates show that 5 cents per ton on ore would cover cost of maintaining 
an electric conveyor plant at each furnace located on the canal or river for taking 
ore from the vessel to the stock pile, a distance of 300 to 400 yards from the w T ater, 
and under such a system the space now occupied bv tracks around the furnaces for 
delivery of ore by rail would largely be available for additional storage room for ore. 

As a further proof of this statement, coal is now being elevated from boats in the 
Monongahela River, dumped into electric trolley cars, and run back to the furnaces 
from 100 to 200 yards at a cost not exceeding 3 cents per ton, and it is admitted by 
those operating this system that with a modern equipped conveyor plant, where the 
bucket conveyors were moved direct from the vessel to the stock pile, it’ could be 
done for less than 3 cents per ton. 


LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 69 


Crude Materials Entering into the Manufacture of Iron And Steel, and Loca¬ 
tion Offering Cheapest Conditions of Manufacture. 

Some have contended that connecting the basis of ore supply and fuel supply bv 
direct water communication will have a tendency to shift the conditions for the 
cheapest cost in the manufacture of iron and steel to the basis of ore supply. It 
ought to be apparent to any mind that if water communication exists for assembling 
the crude materials entering into the product of iron and steel, the zone of cheapest 
cost for manufacturing these products will always remain where the largest amount 
of the crude materials required can be assembled at the least distance and cost of 
transportation. 

In the manufacture of pig iron it requires 1.6 tons of ore, 1 ton of coke, and one- 
third of a ton of limestone to make 1 ton of pig iron; and the ton of coke required is, 
roughly, the equivalent of 1£ tons of coal. It requires about H tons of coal to make 
a ton of muck bar, and about one-half a ton of coal additional to make a ton of bar 
iron, and 1£ tons of coal to make a ton of sheet; and this varies somewhat according 
to whether the ordinary heating furnace or the Siemens heating furnace is used. 

In making steel it takes about the same amount of fuel to make a ton of pig iron for 
steel as for iron. From the pig iron on, however, the amount of fuel used will vary 
greatly, according as the process is remelting or direct. In converting by remelting 
it requires about one-tenth of a ton of coke for melting, and one-sixth "of a ton of 
coal for steam. In rolling these ingots into blooms and billets there is about one- 
sixth of a ton more fuel used, and in rolling blooms into rails, about one-tenth of a 
ton more of fuel. 

• Where the direct process is used—that is, where the pig iron is brought molten 
from the furnaces to the converters without any remelting—the coke required for 
remelting the pig iron is not necessary, and in mills where the rail is rolled directly 
from the ingot the amount of coal used would be still less. 

We are indebted to the late Mr. Jos. D. Weeks for the figures here given as to the 
fuel required to reach the finished product from the pig iron, and they conclusively 
prove that the fuel required alone, without the limestone, is so vastly larger than the 
ore required that the zone wherein exists the conditions for the cheapest manufac¬ 
ture of iron and steel will always be close to the basis of fuel supply; and as lime¬ 
stone, in addition to the fuel supply, is located on the line of the canal and on the 
navigable waters in western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio, connected by it with 
the lakes, these districts possessing the fuel and limestone possess the most favorable 
conditions for the cheapest manufacture of iron and steel, and will always maintain 
these advantages, the free gift of nature, where all crude materials can be assembled 
by all-water transportation. 

In summing up the fuel required to make a ton of finished product it will be found 
that, reducing coke to its equivalent in coal, it requires over 5.25 tons of coal; and 
adding the one-third ton of limestone, it requires over 5J tons of coal and limestone, 
as against 1.6 tons of ore, and the question answers itself in stating it, whether it is 
cheaper to transport the ore to the fuel or the fuel to the ore. 

Lumber. 

The following communication relating to the lumber interests of Pittsburg and 
vicinity was received September 14, 1895, from Mr. Edward Eiler, wholesale lumber 
dealer, Pittsburg, Pa.: 

“White pine is the kind of lumber largely used in this section, and the principal 
sources of supply are lake ports of Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. The 
southern peninsula of Michigan is almost denuded of white pine timber, and dealers 
are looking to Lake Superior points of Michigan and Minnesota for their stock. 

“ The present method of shipping from the large lumber manufacturing points of 
the Northwest to this section is either by all rail on a rate of 25 cents per hundred¬ 
weight, or $6 per 1,000 feet, or during the season of navigation shipments are routed 
from Lake Superior points by water to Cleveland and then by rail to destination. The 
present rate on pine lumber from Duluth, Minn., to Cleveland, Ohio, by water, is 
$1.65 per 1,000 feet; the dockage at Cleveland is 25 cents, and the freight by rail from 
Cleveland to Pittsburg, a distance of 135 miles, is 8 cents per hundredweight, or $2 per 
1,000 feet. This would make the total charges by water and rail route. $3.90 per 1,000 
feet, or a >aving of $2.10 per 1,000 feet over all-rail shipment. This is the cheapest 
rate we can get under existing circumstances and conditions. When the ship canal 
is finished, I feel satisfied that we could safely figure the cost of transporting 1,000 
feet of pine lumber as follows: Freight from Duluth or other Lake Superior points to 
Lake Erie points, $1.65 per thousand. Add to this for additional cost of transporta¬ 
tion through the canal to Pittsburg, including lockage, about 50 cents per 1,000 feet, 


70 LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


and you have a total' charge of only $2.15 per 1,000 feet, as compared with $3.90. 
This would show a saving of $1.75 per thousand, and when you take into consider¬ 
ation that the territory tributary to the proposed canal consumes annually over 
100,000,000 feet of pine lumber, you can form some idea of the saving in cost of 
transportation. 1 

“ The planing-mill industry in this section is a losing investment, and will continue 
to be such until some way has been provided to cheapen the cost of transporting the 
rough lumber. One of our largest planing-mill owners has only recently moved his 
plant to Michigan, where he can get the benefit of cheap water rates, and others are 
seriously considering the same move. The building of the canal as proposed will 
revive the planing-mill industry in this section and check the tendency to move to 
other sections that are more favored in the matter of cheap transportation. 

“The canal must be built if we intend to keep western Pennsylvania at the head 
of the column in the manufacture of iron, steel, and glass, and.I hope the time is not 
far distant when active operations will begin.” 

Projected Canals in the United States. 

The projected canal improvements connecting with the Great Lakes are as follows: 

1. The proposed route by canal from Duluth to the Mississippi River near St. Paul. 

2. The Fox and Wisconsin route by river and canal from Green Bay to Prairie du 
Chien. 

3. The Illinois and Mississippi Canal, known as the Hennepin Canal, which is 
designed to furnish a navigable waterway 7 feet deep from Chicago to the Mississippi 
River near Rock Island. 

4. The Illinois and Michigan Canal, which, with the Illinois River, forms the 
water route from the southern end of Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River at 
Grafton. The works in progress by the city of Chicago in their drainage canal and 
the proposed extension by the Government through Illinois will ultimately make 
this a navigable route for the largest class of steamboats in use upon the river. 

5. The proposed deep-water routes connecting the lakes with the ocean, as follows: 

(a) From Buffalo to and through the Hudson River via the Niagara River and Lake 
Ontario, going down by a series of locks from Niagara Falls; thence from Lake 
Ontario through the Oswego River to the mouth of the Oneida River; thence through 
Oneida Lake; thence over the divide to the Mohawk near Rome; thence down the 
Mohawk to the Hudson. 

( b) Through the Canadian canals and St. Lawrence River. 

(c) By enlarging the Erie Canal from Buffalo to the Hudson River, a route entirely 
in United States territory. 2 

(d ) By enlargement of Welland Canal or a series of locks from Niagara Falls on 
American side, through Lake Ontario and St. Lawrence River; thence by canal and 
Lake St. Francis to Lake Champlain; thence to Hudson River. 

This union of the Great Lakes and the ocean by improved navigation facilities will 
undoubtedly be accomplished, and in that event the Lake Erie and Ohio River Ship 
Canal will form the connecting link between the Great Lakes and about 15,000 miles 
of navigable rivers, touching about fifteen inland States and extending to the Gulf 
of Mexico; and the improvement to the Ohio River to adapt itself to the commerce 
and new trade conditions which will result from its connection with the Great Lakes 
by the proposed ship canal will furnish an inland waterway linking the Atlantic 
Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico through the Great Lakes, which, while it may not pass 
the largest ocean and lake vessels, will revolutionize the present cost of commercial 
communication between these points, to the advantage not only of our internal, but 
export trade, and also lifts the project to the plane of nationafimportance from the 
increased facilities afforded for the movement of medium-draft war vessels and the 
transportation of military supplies, etc., through this inland water route connecting 
the Gulf and Great Lakes and the ocean. 

By way of illustrating the power of the 15-foot canal to cheaply handle the immense 
tonnage awaiting it in western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio, we refer to a state¬ 
ment made by Mr. James Fisher, M. P. P., at the Toronto Deep'Waterways Conven¬ 
tion, when he states: 

“A writer in a recent magazine says that the average load carried by freight trains 
in the United States is less than 182 tons. Some of the new vessels on the upper 


1 About $175,000. 

2 In 1895 New York State voted an appropriation of $9,000,000 to deepen the Erie 
Canal to 9 feet. 





LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 71 


lakes, with a draft of only 16 feet, take in one cargo over 3,700 tons, equal to or more 
than 20 such average trains; while the whaleback steame^, with her three consorts 
in tow will, in one load, with one staff of hands, with one outfit of steam power, with 
one set of machinery, with no wear and tear of track, with little wear and tear to 
the vessel, carry through the 14-foot channel to Montreal (when completed) nearly 
9,500 tons, or more than is carried by 50 such average freight trains.” 

If this can be done on the 14-foot channel, and in view of the fact that the average 
cargo carried on the Great Lakes is about 1,000 tons (and this is being done so 
cheaply on the Great Lakes as compared with the best of railroads) on the 17-foot 
channel of the Sault canal, and according to General Poe’s latest report—for 1895— 
164 feet in the Detroit River channel, it needs no further argument to show the ability 
of the Lake Erie and Ohio River Ship Canal, of not less than 15 feet depth, to reduce 
the cost of transportation for the crude materials entering into the iron and steel 
industries of western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio to the point where they can 
compete with any market in the world. 

The result of securing a continuous waterway of the depth of 16 to 17 feet from the 
head of the lakes to Buffalo within recent years is that the average rate per ton per 
mile in 1887 of 2.3 mills has been reduced to about 1 mill in 1895 and considerably 
below 1 mill in 1897. 

4 

Canals of Canada in the tributary icaters of the Great Lakes. 


• b.' 

a 

£ 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 
9 

10 

11 

12 

13 


14 

15 

16 


Name of canal. 

Waters 

connected. 

Lachine 1 . 

St. Lawrence 
River. 

.do. 

Soulanges 2 . 

Bea,uhamois_ . 

.do. 

Cornwall. 

.do. 

Farrans Point .. 

.do. 

; Rapide Plat_ 

.do. 

Galops. 

.do. 

St.Ours Lock... 
Ohamhlv . _ 

Richelieu River 
.do. 

St. Annes Lock . 
Carillon. 

Ottawa River... 
.do. 

flrcnvillc.. 

.do. 

Rideau 3 4 * 6 * 8 . 

Ottawa River 
and Lake On¬ 
tario (via Rid¬ 
eau River and 
lakes). 

Lake Rideau ... 

Lake On t a r i o 
and Bay of 
Quinte. 

Lake On t a r i o 
and Lake Erie. 

St. Marys River. 

(Perth Branch 
of Rideau). 
Murray 1 . 

Welland. 

Sault Ste. Marie. 


Terminal points. 

Lengths of 
canals, stat¬ 
ute miles. 

Number. 

Montreal-Lachine... 

8.25 

5 

Cascades Port-Mc- 

14 

5 

Donald Port. 



Melochville-Valley- 

11.25 

9 

field. 



Cornwall-Dickinson 

11.5 

6 

Landing. 



Farrans Point-Port 

. 75 

1 

Avoyon. 



Rapide Plat-Flags 

4 

2 

Bay. 



I r o q u o i s-G a 1 o p s 

7.625 

3 

Rapid. 



St. Ours. 

.125 

1 

Chambly Basin-St. 

12 

9 

Johns. 



St. Annes. 

.125 

1 

Carillon. 

.75 

2 

Grenville. 

5. 75 

5 

Ottawa-Kingston ... 

126.75 

125 up 
\14 d’n 

Beveridges Bay- 

6 

2 

Perth. 



Presque Isle Harbor- 

5.16 

0 

Bay of Quinte. 



Port Dalhousie-Port 

26. 75 

25 

Colborne. 



Sault Ste. Marie. 

3 3.4 

1 


Locks. 


+2 -'■“y 


r*j ^ 


53 £ 

'C 0/ 

ao3 

Sa b 

a a> 



Q — 

c ^ 

270 

45 

14 

45 

270 

45 

14 

82.5 

200 

45 

9 

82.5 

200 

45 

9 

48 

200 

45 

9 

4 

200 

45 

9 

11.5 

200 

45 

9 

15.5 

200 

45 

7 

5 

118 

22.5 

7 

74 

200 

45 

9 

3 

200 

45 

9 

16 

200 

45 

9 

43. 75 

) 134 

33 

5 { 

5292.25 
6 165.50 

134 

32 

5.6 

26 

270 

45 

'14 

326. 75 

900 

60 

21 

18 


1 Only 12 feet can be carried between locks. 

- Under construction. 

»Only 4? feet can be carried between locks. 

4 Navigable waters, 

s Rise. 

6 Fail. 

' Subject to fluctuation in the summit level by reason of high winds on Lake Erie. 

8 Including approaches. , ,. , 

The smallest dimensions are given for locks. Improvements and enlargement of locks are m prog¬ 
ress which will give a continuous depth of 14 feet through the St. Lawrence River canals. 























































72 LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 

Canals of the United States in the tributary vjaters of the Great Lakes. 


o 

fc 

Name of canal. 

Waters con¬ 
nected. 

Terminal points. 

Length of canals 
(miles). 

Height of bridges 

(feet). 


Locks. 



No. 

Length 

(feet). 

Wid t It 
(feet). 

V Jj 

O 

V o 

1 

Champlain .... 

Hudson River 

West T r o v— 

66 

1 1 
A A 


110 

18 

5 

150 



and Lake 

Whitehall. 










Champlain. 









2 

Oswego. 

Lake Ontario 

Oswego—S vra- 

38 

12 

29 

110 

18 

7 

155 



and Erie Ca- 

cuse. 










nal. 









3 

Erie. 

Lake Erie and 

Buffalo — Al- 

352.18 

12 

72 

110 

18 

7 

572 



Hudson River. 

bany. 








4 

Ohio. 

Lake Erie and 

C1 e v e 1 a n d— 

309 

10 

144 

90 

14 

4 

886 



Ohio River. 

Portsmouth. 








5 

Miami and Erie 

.do. 

Toledo—Cincin- 

250 

10 

97 

90 

14 

4 

796 




• nati. 








6 

Illinois and 

Lake Michigan 

C hi cago—La- 

96 

11 

18 

110 

18 

5.5 



Michigan. 1 

and Mississip- 

salle. 










pi River. 









7 

Illinois and 

Illinois River 

Rock Island— 

77 

15 

39 

170 

35 

7' 

302 


Mississippi 

and Mississip- 

Hennepin. 









River (Hen- 

pi River. 










nepin.) 2 










8 

Sanitary and 

Lake Michigan 

Lake Michigan- 

34 05 

22 

0 






Ship Canal of 

and D e s- 

Lockport. 









Chicago. 2 3 

plaines River. 









9 

Sturgeon Bay 

Green Bav and 

Sturgeon Bav, 

1.25 

/ 







and Lake 

Lake Miehi- 

Wisconsin. 









Michigan. 

gan. 










(Sault Ste. Ma- 

I 









10 i 

< rie (St. Mary’s 

>St. Marys River. 

Sault Ste. Marie. 

2 

) Draw. 

1 old. 

515 

60 

16 

18 


| River). 

( 



J 2 Draw. 

2 1 new. 

2 800 

2 100 

2 21.5 

18 

11 

Portage Lake 

Lake Superior 

IT oughto n, 

2 








Ship Canal. 

and Kewee- 

Mich.—Por- 










naw Bay. 

tage. 









1 Locks will pass vessels of 17 feet beam, 103 feet length, and 4 feet 8 inches draft 

2 Under construction. 

3 Least depth 22 feet, narrowest channel 101 feet, to be widened hereafter. 


Note.— New York State has appropriated $9,000,000 for improvement of her canals. The Erie Canal 
is to be deepened to 9 feet, and the lengthening of some of the locks. The work is now in progress 
and will be completed in about three years. 


The late Gen. O. M. Poe, in charge of the upper lakes works, furnishes the fhllow- 
ing statement showing the entire amount, including cost and maintenance and opera¬ 
tion, expended on all the works of the United States for improving the Great Lakes 
from Chicago and Superior to Buffalo up to September 1, 1895: 


St. Marys River and St. Marys Falls Canal (1855 and 1881). $2.626,124 

Improving St. Marys River under present project to September 1, 1895.. 2, 96s’ 476 

Improving Hay Lake Channel to September 1, 1895.. i 848, 821 

Improving Detroit River to September 1, 1895.. ’ 708! 001 

Improving St, Clair Flats Canal, Michigan, to September 1, 1895 . 760, 223 

Ship channel connecting waters of the Great Lakes between Chicago, ‘ 

Superior, and Buffalo, to September 1, 1895... i, 424 ,194 


Total. 

It has cost for operating and care of canals as follows: 

St. Marys Falls Canal to September 1, 1895. 

St. Clair Flats Canal to September 1, 1895. 


10, 335, 839 


573,337 
69,824 


Total for operating, etc. 643,151 

Aggregate. 10, 979 , 000 


The Dominion minister of railways and canals gives the following official statement 
show ing the GxpGiiditurGS hy tliG ImpGricil Cjo vgi* nin g n t and tliG Cftiicidiftn govGni- 


(feet). 




























































LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 73 

ment upon the construction, renewals, and maintenance of the Sault Ste. Marie, Wel¬ 
land, and St. Lawrence canals, and that portion of the St. Lawrence River between 
canals and below Montreal up to June 30, 1895: 


Canal. 

On capital 
account. 

Surveys and 
renewals 
chargeable 
to income. 

Maintenance 
and* repairs. 

Sault Ste. Marie. 

Welland. 

Williamsburgh. 

Cornwall. 

Beauharnois. 

Soulanges. 

S3,256,510.00 
23, 764,070.00 
3,438,941.00 
5,498, 720.00 
1,611,690. 00 
1,737,986.00 
9, 855, 720. 00 
966,146.00 
3,518,650.00 

$950.00 
359, 730.00 
7,164.00 
81,748.00 
177,826.00 

$3,432.00 
4,138, 756.00 
406,035.00 
701,384.00 
182,052.00 

Lachine. 

St. Lawrence River canals. 

229,105.00 
98,378.00 

. 

1,761,829.00 

Deepening the St. Lawrence between Quebec and Montreal. 

Total. 

Grand total. 


53,648,433.00 

9.54,901.00 | 7,193,488.00 
. 1 61,796,822.00 


The above figures show that while Canada has spent about $12 per capita for the 
above waterway improvements, the United States has spent about 15 cents per capita, 
and the lake commerce carried in United States vessels is 90 per cent and in Canadian 
vessels 10 per cent. 

Survey of Miami and Erie Canal, etc., made by the Government in 1895. 

The river and harbor act of 1894 authorized the Secretary of War to appoint a board 
of three engineers of the Army to survey and report upon the practicability of con¬ 
necting the waters of Lake Erie and the Ohio River through the State of Ohio, limit¬ 
ing the width to 70 feet, depth to 7 feet, and locks 150 feet long and 21 feet wide. 
Pursuant thereto Col. O. M, Poe, Lieut. Col. Amos Stieknev, and Maj. William L. 
Marshall were appointed on the board. By the death of Colonel Poe, October 2,1895, 
Maj. William S. Stanton was appointed, November 23, 1895, to till the vacancy. 

routes surveyed. 

The report of the board was tiled March 4, 1896, with the Secretary of War and 
ordered printed, and reports having surveyed three routes, as follows: 

First. The eastern route, from Cleveland on Lake Erie to Marietta on the Ohio 
River. This route is via the valleys of the Cuyahoga and Tuscarawas rivers and the 
divide separating them to the Muskingum River; thence to Marietta at the mouth of 
the Muskingum. 

Second. The central route, from Sandusky Bay via the Sandusky River, over and 
acro-s the divide at its head waters into the valley of the Scioto River; thence via the 
valley of this stream, by slack water and canal, to the Ohio River at Portsmouth. 

Third. The western route, from Lake Erie, at Toledo, via the valleys of the Mau¬ 
mee and Auglaize rivers to the summit level across the divide between the St. Marys 
River, a tributary of the Maumee River, and Loramie Creek, a tributary of the 
Miami River; thence along the Miami Valley via Dayton and Hamilton to the Ohio 
River at Cincinnati. 

We give below a table of comparative data ascertained in relation to the above 
routes, including the data ascertained by the provincial committee in relation to the 
route from Ashtabula, on Lake Erie, to the Ohio River, via the Mahoning and Beaver 
rivers, which will be called the “ship-canal route.” 


Routes. 

Elevation 
summit 
above 
Lake Erie. 

Elevation 
summit 
above 
Ohio River. 

Total 

lockage. 

Area 

water¬ 

sheds. 

Canal. 

Slack 

water. 

Total dis¬ 
tance, 
river to 
lake. 

Eastern rnnte Ohio. 

Feet. 

395 

Feet. 

398 

Feet. 

793 

Sq. miles. 
498 

Miles. 

132 

Miles. 

114 

Miles. 

246 

Oentrnl rnnte Ohio. 

315 

412 

727 

797 

168 

61 

229 

y r pvtern route Ohio. 

374 

516 

890 

756 

240 

9 

249 

Ship-ennui route. 

327 

231 

558 

U,074 

52 

50 

102 










i Four thousand five hundred square miles available to be drained into ship-canal summit if needed. 



















































74 LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


The report states: “Commercial intercourse by canal between the lake and river 
will be best promoted by two routes, one connecting the upper river and its tribu¬ 
taries with the lake, and the other connecting the west end of the lake with the Ohio 
River. For the eastern connection there is but one route available, and that is the 
proposed Lake Erie and Ohio River Canal (ship-canal route). The western connec¬ 
tion can be provided along either the Miami and Erie line or the Sandusky-Scioto 
line.” 

The report also finds that the largest territory, embracing the largest mining, manu¬ 
facturing, and other commercial interests, will be served by water communication 
north and south through the ship-canal route via the Mahoning and Beaver rivers. 
(P. 65.) 


SIZE OF CANAL. 

The board does not recommend the size of canal specified in the resolution author¬ 
izing the survey. They find that about 60 per cent of the freight interchanged 
between the lakes and the Ohio River is made up of coal and ore, with some lumber 
(p. 18), and that a canal “to be most efficacious in promoting the economical 
transportation of this largest class of freight should enable ore to be delivered on the 
river in the locality of the furnaces which are to reduce it in the same bottoms in 
which it was placed on the upper lakes; and it should enable coal to be delivered at 
the wharves of Duluth or other lake ports in the same bottoms into which it was 
loaded on the Ohio, because the cost of unloading and loading is a material percent¬ 
age of their value and so great in comparison with the cost of transportation.” 
(Pp. 19 and 20.) “ The cost of once unloading and reloading a cargo of coal would 

carry it, at the rates of 1891, 291 miles on the Erie Canal, 946 miles on the lakes, or 
1,060 miles on the Ohio River.” (P. 20.) 

COMMERCE. 

In relation to the volume and character of commerce between the Ohio River and 
the lakes the report says: 

“The freight interchanged between the lakes and the coal and iron region of the 
Upper Ohio is now transshipped across the country lying between them by five rail¬ 
way lines. Railways which run within competitive range of one or more of the three 
feasible canal routes embraced in this report, carried, Captain Chittenden states, 
from official report of 1894, nearly 52f millions of tons, of which 55 per cent, or verv 
nearly 29,000,000 tons were products of the mines; 7 per cent, or upward of 3,500,000 
tons were products of the forests; 14 per cent products of agriculture and animals, 
and 24 per cent were manufactures, merchandise, and other commodities.” (P. 18). 

It■ jwill be observed, from the report of the provisional committee on the “ship 
canal route,” that this vast tonnage passing between the lakes and the Upper Ohio 
River almost wholly originates in the Upper Ohio Valley, above Wheeling and Bell- 
aire and in the Monongahela Valley, in Allegheny and Westmoreland countries, and 
in the Mahoning and Shenango valleys, points directly reached by and along the 
pathway of the Lake Erie and Ohio River Ship Canal route. 

“ It appears from Captain Chittenden’s report that during 1880 to 1890 the Erie 
Canal carried an annual average of 3f millions of tons of freight, and that in 1894 it 
carried nearly 2£ millions of tons of through freight, and upward of 1| millions of 
tons of way freight, amounting (way and through frieght) to upward of 3| millions 
of tons.” 

“In 1894 the New-York Central and Hudson River Railroad (including the West 
Shore) carried 2£ millions of tons of through freight and upward of 16J‘millions of 
tons of way freight; in all, nearly 18f millions of tons. Thus, while the wav freight 
and the total freight on the canal were only 9.6 and 27.7 per cent, respectively, of 
the way freight and total freight on the two roads, the through freight on the canal 
was 98.6 per cent of the through freight on the two paralleling roads, and one of these 
roads, the New York Central, is the best equipped freight road in this country, hav¬ 
ing a separate track for freight in each direction. The Erie Canal, then, with a 
nominal depth of 7 and available depth of 6 feet, paralleled by two and its termini 
connected by five railroad lines, carried, in 1894, 21 per cent as much as the total 
freight—nearly 18f millions of tons—that was carried by the two parallel roads lying 
close to the canal.” 

If the Erie Canal, with an available depth of only 6 feet, and requiring transfer of 
freight to and from its boats, is at present such a prominent factor in through freight 
and m total freight carried, with the best equipped railway service in the country 
paralleling it, what economies in transportation in the interest of the vast commerce 


LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 75 


passing between the Upper Ohio River and the lakes would necessarily result from a 
waterway 15 feet deep directly along the line of its present rail porterage? 

“Barges, to be profitable and sufficiently seaworthy to navigate the Great Lakes, 
experts state, should have a draft of not less than 8 or 9 feet. For navigation by 
such barges, a canal should have a depth of not less than about 10 feet and locks 
about 26 by 200 feet. A canal of less depth would impose upon traffic such a burden, 
for transfer, at one or both of its termini, depending upon the improvement of the 
river channel, its efficiency would be greatly restricted in cheapening transportation 
for interstate commerce” (pp. 20-21). 

In support of this position the board (p. 88) gives a letter dated December 10,1895, 
from Mr. Alexander McDougall, inventor and builder of the whaleback steamers and 
barges, relating to the subject, from which we quote as follows: 

“In regard to minimum size of vessels adapted to lake and canal trade, in order to 
be seaworthy and profitable, I think such vessels, when used as steamers and con¬ 
sorts, could be made to carry their cargo profitably and be perfectly seaworthy on a 
draft of 8 or 9 feet. If such vessels were used for lake trade onlv, they might answer 
as good a purpose as the modern-built vessel, but with the delay incident to canal 
navigation I think they would carry cargo as cheaply as a much larger vessel. 

“The modern lake steamship costs about $66 per ton of its carrying capacity on 
14-foot draft, while the Erie Canal boat only costs about $12 per ton of its carrying 
capacity. Of course, the Erie Canal boat is not intended for lake trade, but a vessel 
stanch enough to stand all the lake storms and also fitted for canal service should be 
built for about $40 per ton of its carrying capacity, steamer and tow barge included, 
in the order of one steamer for three consorts, and the steamer having large power 
and fitted so as to completely submerge her propeller beyond canal depth when on 
the lake service. 

“ If such a canal is built as referred to from the Ohio River to Lake Erie, standard 
sizes of steel steamers and consorts for that trade could be made, I think, that would 
accommodate the requirements of the Ohio River, the canal, and the lakes and carry 
their cargo on the lake portion of the route almost or quite as cheaply as the modern- 
built vessel of to-dav.” 


Cost and relative merits of the three routes. 



7-foot 

depth. 

10-foot 
depth.i 

Eastern route. 

812,299,372 

18,094,165 

815,042,586 

Central route. 

20,784,451 
26,865,126 

Western route. 

23,011,374 



1 85 by 60 by 10 feet; with locks 200 by 26 feet. 


“In the matter of, lumber shipments and manufactured products the western route 
stands considerably ahead, but the heavy tonnage of coal, stone, and clay products 
on the other routes will probably make the total local tonnage of each of these 
routes greater than the western. "The tonnage of such products as might be shipped 
by canal, and which originate in, or are destined to, territory tributary to the three 
routes, would not fall below the following (page 66): 

Tons. 

Eastern route.-. 8, 000, 000 

Central route. 9,000,000 

AVestern route. 7,000, 000 

“The western route would have, in agricultural products of the country tributary 
to the canal, the largest traffic of the tin ee lines. Connecting Cincinnati and Toledo, 
it would have much the largest amount of heavy traffic, caused by the manufactures 
and industries of large centers of population. 

“But it is far out of the direct line, and the most circuitous of all the routes 
between the lakes and the region of the great coal and iron interests on the Upper 
Ohio. It entails 113 miles more of river navigation from the mouth of the Great 
Kanawha than the central route, and 295 miles more from Pittsburg than the eastern 
route. From the coal and iron region of the Upper Ohio to the mouth of the Detroit 
River the distance by it is 137 miles greater than by the eastern route. * * * 

“The central route, passing a little west of the Hocking. Valley coal fields, would 
have from the region of the canal a traffic in coal amounting to about one-fourth of 
the estimated tonnage of the canal: also a traffic from that region in quarry and agri- 





















76 LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


cultural products and in manufactures amounting, respectively, to about 7 per cent 
and 8 per cent of that tonnage. Passing through Columbus, of upward of 100,000 
inhabitants, a canal would have a considerable traffic arising from its manufactures 
and industries. 

“ Its terminus on the Ohio at Portsmouth, being 92 miles below the mouth of the 
Great Kanawha, would be the most accessible to that outlet of the coal fields of 
West Virginia. * * * 

“But at its terminus on the Ohio the depth of water in the unimproved river 
channel would be less than that in the canal nearly two-thirds of the canal season 
and in the improved river nearly one-fourth of the canal season, and it would entail 
182 miles more river navigation from Pittsburg than the eastern route. 

“ The eastern route, passing through the coal district of Ohio, would carry from the 
region of the canal coal amounting to about 27 per cent and agricultural and quarry 
products, with manufactures, amounting to about 13 per cent of the canal’s entire 
estimated tonnage. 

“Its terminus at Marietta would be nearest to Pittsburg, the center of the traffic in 
coal and ore with the lakes. * * * 

“It would shorten railway transportation of large quantities of iron from Alabama 
to the lakes considerably less than it would be shortened by either of the other 
routes.” 


Rail and Water Transportation—Comparative Benefits and Cost. 

“With a thoroughness of construction, such as the assumed original cost implies, 
and with such improvements in the methods of lockage and traction as are easily 
within the resources of practical engineering, the ton-mile rate of freight on such a 
canal ought not to exceed 0.75 mill. The rate on coal on the Erie Canal for 1894 was 
1.2 mills; on the Great Lakes 0.37 mill, and on the Ohio 0.33 mill. The rail ton- 
mile rate on coal and iron ore varies from 3 to 7 mills, according to the opportunities 
and exigencies of the railroads, the first figure being in the neighborhood of actual 
cost on a well-built road of easy grades. The saving bv canal over a paying railroad 
freight would be not less than 3 to 4 mills” (p. 68). 

“The Erie Canal, in the decade commencing with 1880, carried an annual average 
of 3,673,082 tons of freight. The canal has a nominal depth of 7 feet, but an actual 
depth of not more than 6 feet; it is not in a state of efficient repair; it has made no 
important improvement in lockage methods; horse towing is still much in vogue; it 
is paralleled by two and its termini are connected by five of the great railroads of the 
country, on which the possibilities of cheap rail rates have reached the maximum 
development yet known in this country; and, finally, there is no organization among 
its shippers to solicit freight, while the railroads have active agents in everv citv of 
the West” (p. 68). J 

“As is well known, what may be called the indirect benefits of water competition 
in freight traffic are generally considered as of greater importance than the direct 
benefits. It is fully recognized that the influence of a capacious and free waterway 
m controlling and equalizing railroad freight rates, even if onlv a small proportion 
of freight actually goes by water, is of great value to the public. The history of the 
Erie Canal shows, by comparison of summer and winter rail rates on lines parallel¬ 
ing it, that it has effected a reduction in railroad freight rates during the past twenty- 
five years of not less than 50 per cent, and it has been estimated that ‘the amount 
saved in transportation of grain alone through the State of New York by the Erie 
Canal during the last thirty years is at least $200,000,000.’ The influence of the 
waterway does not cease with the suspension of navigation in the autumn. On all 
such freight as can be held over until spring the railroads-are com pel ied to make 
concessions even in winter time” (p. 69). 

It is a recognized fact among the best railroad authorities that free water compe¬ 
tition, instead of being a detriment to the railroads, is a benefit to them. The classes 
of freight that can be carried most economically by water are those that are carried 
with least profit by the railroads. The two systems of transportation are natural 
complements of each other and make possible a division of traffic which is of advan¬ 
tage to both. That this argument rests on a sound basis is evidenced bv the suc¬ 
cessful contemporaneous development of canals and railroads in France, and bv the 
fact that in our own country the most prosperous railroads are those that parallel 
the great waterways. It is nevertheless true that there is a settled and persistent 
hostility on the part of the railroads toward the development of inland waterwavs— 
a hostility that is too pronounced to be overlooked and too widespread not to pro¬ 
ceed from some adequate cause. This cause rests mainly in the condition of abnor¬ 
mal railway development which prevails throughout the northern section of the 
United States. 


LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


77 

“More lines have been built than the traffic of the country can sustain. To pay 
dividends upon the immense investments locked up in these railroads necessitates a 
resort to every available source of revenue and leads to unjust discriminations and 
combinations to enhance rates. The railroads naturally look with disfavor upon the 
possible loss of even their least profitable traffic, and oppose any curtailment of 
their power so to manipulate rates as to meet the necessities of their situation. The 
fact of this hostility, when considered in connection with the cause for it, is the best 
possible proof that the interests of the people at large lie in the direction of a judi¬ 
cious extension of their system of inland waterways” (p. 69). 

‘ ‘ In applying these conclusions, the conditions of the particular case must, of course, 
be considered. A canal can not be made a free waterway in the sense of the Great 
Lakes or the Hudson River, which require a comparatively insignificant outlay to 
improve their natural condition. An artificial waterway is a very expensive work— 
$80,000 to $95,000 per mile for those considered in this report. Although such a 
waterway may be made toll free, the public Treasury must bear the cost of its con¬ 
struction, maintenance, and operation. In so far it is not a free waterway, and to be 
a justifiable enterprise the extent of its influence should be sufficiently great to return 
a benefit commensurate with its cost. 

“It is confidently believed that this would be the case with a barge canal along 
any of the proposed routes. Even the record of the old Ohio canals when properly 
analyzed supports this conclusion. The project is one of undoubted practicability, 
at a cost not prohibitory, and if ever carried out the canal so built will form an 
important part of an inland system of navigation which, with Lake Erie as a com¬ 
mercial base of operations, will embrace the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence, 
‘Mississippi, and Ohio rivers and the Atlantic seaboard.” (P. 69.) 

“A canal of the proposed dimensions would unquestionably attract to itself a very 
great through commerce as well as local traffic, which, in the light of such data as 
herein introduced, should be expected to reach 10,000,000 tons annually, or the 
equivalent of one-seventh of the quantity now moved by the railroads of Ohio in a 
vear. If it be calculated that the average distance which such tonnage would be 
moved would be 150 miles, the cost of movement on the basis of 1 mill per ton per mile 
would be $1,500,000. At a rate of 5 mills per ton per mile for railroad movement ( one- 
fifth less than last vear’s avera'ge in Ohio) the cost would be $7,500,000. The differ¬ 
ence, $6,000,000, aside from any influence which the canal would have in modifying 
charges by railroads on other freight moved, would seem to fully justify the improve¬ 
ment of the canal on any basis of cost that is expected to be indicated by the 
Government surveys arranged for. Even at 2 mills per ton per mile for canal trans¬ 
portation, the saving to the industrial interests in the region of the State directly 
affected would be very great, and to an extent seemingly justifying the proposed 
improvement.” (P. 107.) ... 

These statements, coming from a board of engineers of the United States Army, in 
no way interested or biased for or against either railroads or canals or in the finan¬ 
cial results of their operation, are certainly worthy the attention and consideration 
of our business men and legislators, and have particular application to the ship-canal 
route as being admittedly the shortest and best route and serving the largest 
commerce. 

New York Canals. 


The State of New York has grown rich from the tolls and other revenues collected 
on its two great canals, the Erie and Champlain. Not alone did these canals take 
New York State out of the position of fifth in population, wealth, and commerce 
among the sister States and place her at the head and ever since maintain her there, 
but tliev have paid into the State in cash the sum of $28,919,633.16 more than their 
entire cost for construction and maintenance from the beginning up to the close of 
1892. 

Xliat statement tells the whole story. As a source of profit they have been of 
enormous value to the State, apart from the imperial wealth with which they have 
endowed the State, in bringing to it an enormous traffic, upon which a vast portion 
of the population lives directlv, and the low rates of freight which enable every per¬ 
son in the State to enjoy cheaper foods than are enjoyed by the people of any other 

State in the Union. , 

The records show that from the time the first work was done on these canals up 
to the close of 1892 they cost the State $99,271,435.19, inclusive of all expenses of 
maintenance, and that thev paid into the State, in tolls and other moneys, the sum 
of $ 128 , 191 , 068 . 35 —leaving the State still debtor to these two great canals in the sum 
of $28,919,633. i6. 


78 LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


Comparative dimensions and capacity, Erie Canal , of New York , and Lake Erie and Ohio 

River Ship Canal. 



Length. 

! _ 

Total 

lock¬ 

age. 

Num¬ 
ber of 
locks. 

Length 

be¬ 

tween 

quoins. 

1 Width 
of sur¬ 
face. 

Width 
on bot- 
1 tom. 

.Depth. 

Clear 

width 

i of 

locks. 

Maxi¬ 
mum 
! capac¬ 
ity of 
boats. 

Erie Canal, Lake Erie to 
Hudson River. 

Miles. 

352 

102 

Feet. J 
654.8 

548 

72 1 

Feet. 

11 n 

Feet. 

70 

Feet. 

Feet. 

Feet. 

18 

45 

Tons. 

240 

3,000 

Lake Erie and Ohio River 
Canal, Lake Erie to Ohio 
River 1 . 

qq 

1IU | 

ojn 

DO 

1 GO 

7 


oo 

O-iU 

100 

WJ, 

15 


a canal paralleling the Ohio. J 


Atlantic Coastwise Canals. 


The report of the Canal Commission of Philadelphia, published in 1895, in relation 
to the proposed canal connection between the Delaware River and Raritan Bay 
states as follows: J 

The coastwise trade between North Carolina and Boston (as extreme points) is 
gradually bemg changed to barges with independent towboats, and it can not be 
doubted that when interior waterways are provided along the coast the larger portion 
ot this commerce will use them. From two to three millions of tonnage would 
probably seek this canal were the connecting' link between the Chesapeake and 
Delaware bays opened.” 1 

The proposed canals forming the coastwise system are as follows: 
toni width^20 Length ’ 7,5 miles ; depth, 23 feet; surface width, 131 feet; bot- 

2 . Delaware and Raritan Canal— Estimated for two sizes, as follows: Length 31.4 
miles; depth, 20 feet; surface width, 150 feet; bottoip width, 96 feet; iocks, 340 feet 

? n t ™ e f T, de - De P‘ h c ’ 28 feeti surface width, 184 feet; bottom width, 100 
feet; locks, 500 feet long and 65 feet wide. 

h^ h ^ a o P ^K e T d . Ddav }\ re Canal.— Length, 13.63 miles; depth, 27 feet; surface 
W1 f th ;,} 78 te f t; bottom width, 100 feet; locks, 600 feet long and 60 feet wide 

and^£^dth 68 f Z Peale (PreSent Canal) '- Length ’ 13 ' 94 miles : de P th . 9 feet, 
Waterways in Germany and France. 

Germany. The Baltic and North Sea (known as the Kiel) ship canal was opened 
to commerce by Emperor William June 21, 1895. This waterway is of vast impor¬ 
tance in its relation to international commerce, the coasting trade of eastern and 
western Germany, and as furnishing opportunity for strategic movements of German 
w?^L eS 79 f' A h ® cana .j s , 61 ^des long; normal cross section is 187 feet surface 

feet 1 It 2 cost t *37 t 290 1 79n d i h, /* 1 f ( ^ 29 “ feet ' dee P- °}} curves th e surface width is 242 
f B ;; 1 J; cost $3/,290,720, and it is a remarkable tribute to the proverbial accuracy 

?37 t 440 oon ma Tf ? alculators that the estimated cost was not exceeded, which was 

through^the canah eXpeCted that about 7 ’ 500 ’ 000 tons freight will annually pass 

The policy of the Government is that improved waterways are a necessary com¬ 
plement to the successful and economical operation of the railway y 

t0 /• S * Jeans > Waterways and Water Transport, the annual traffic of 
the waterways of Germany is estimated to be 20,000,000 tons. The density of traffic 

per mill. /,2 °° ^ *** mile ° n the waterw£ W and on the railway about 4,864 tons 

In 1886 the coal traffic of the railways in Germany was 48.5 per cent of the whole 
f PGr ce J l1: of th e total traffic carried on the rivers and canals of the Empire 
t he f , or ! n of foal and coke - Upon the improvement of the Rhine and the Main 
cities located on these waterways began to prosper, and the railways shared in the 

ITZtke s T eco e nd USmeSS ° f the “ d36 P« -„t the W yTar and 58 

In the world’s iron and steel production Germany in thirty years has advanced 
from fourth to about second, and is strongly competing with Great Britain for second 






















LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY 


79 


place, and caused Bradstreet to recently remark that “Germany’s rate of increase, 
its iron industry will overtake and run beyond the British product within two 
years.” 

In comparing Germany to England, which has receded, relative to other countries 
and to the United States', which have advanced, we must look for some potent factor 
as the cause, and it lies in the fact that in the last twenty years Germany has given 
special attention to the improvement of her inland waterways, and the large manu¬ 
facturing and mercantile centers thus connected by navigable rivers and canals with 
tide water have in many instances more than doubled in population and tonnage 
movement within the period mentioned, and have caused her rich supply of coal 
and ore to meet at the point of manufacture by water transportation; and although 
her supplies of raw materials are not so vast and cheap as western Pennsylvania 
coal or Lake Superior ores, yet the improvement and connection of these water 
routes with the base of supply for raw materials has so reduced the cost of manu¬ 
factured product that Germany has extended her power to compete in the world’s 
markets with her products of iron and steel. 

On this subject William E. Curtis, in a letter to the Chicago Record, dated August 
5,1897, states: “Very few persons realize the extent of the navigable waters of Ger¬ 
many. They have a total length of 8,653 miles, of which 5,830 miles are rivers, 1,371 
miles are natural water courses that have been dredged out and walled up until they 
can carrv vessels of 6 and 7 feet draft, and 1,391 miles are purely artificial canals.” 

England and the United States have together adopted the uniform policy of neg¬ 
lecting inland water transportation, and while England has fallen behind, the 1 nited 
States has been able to take the lead, only because the present natural routes of the 
• •United States for assembling materials for manufacture have been superior to those 
of the countries mentioned. 

The proposed Lake Erie and Ohio River Ship Canal, however, will connect the ore 
and fuel in the United States by water transportation, and so further reduce the cost 
of manufacturing in the United States that, with the proposed improved water con¬ 
nection between the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean, the power of the United 
States to compete in the world’s markets with her products of iron and steel will be 

vastlv enlarged. . . _ _ . 

France .—France began building canals as early as the Christian era, and has kept 
it up until she has now over 3,200 miles of canals in operation and 7,700 miles of 
canals and rivers open to canal-boat navigation; and the secret of her prosperty is a 
persistent and intelligent movement in the direction of cheapening the cost of trans¬ 
portation; and the points of France showing the greatest growth in population and 
commercial activity and where the railroads do the most profitable business are 
located where there is the most efficient service in water transportation. France has 
expended a larger sum in the improvement of her inland navigation than any other 
country, and the improvements are carried out systematically, permitting their con¬ 
nection with each other and the centers of population and industry. 

It is the wonder of the age how quickly France recuperated after the war with 
Germany and paid the enormous war idemnity; and this was brought about because 
France is equipped with better facilities for cheap transportation than any other 
nation in the world; and the railroads encourage the building of canals because they 
have learned the economy of giving over to canals the mineral and heavy traffic, 
which has enabled them to reduce the cost per mile of road and equipment and 
increase the earning power from the more profitable business in passenger and fast 
freight traffic, until the French railroads earn a higher per cent on capital invested 
than the railroads of any other nation on the globe. 

Xli6 w&terwavs h&ve en&bled communities to grow mid piosper, irom. which the 
railroads get their share of the profitable business, which growth and prosperity it 
would be a physical impossibility for railroads alone to secure. While in the United 
States the canal system, upon which at one time so much of the great prosperity of 
the country depended, h&s been allow r ed to fell into disrepmi mid oblixion, in r 1 mice 
the canals have been maintained in a high state of efficiency. 

The total tonnage carried on the canals ot I ranee in 188/ was _1,0»)0,180 tons, an 

average distance of 84 miles per ton. .. . Q ,, 

In same year French railways carried 80,360,000 tons, an average distance ot 84 ? 

miles per ton. 

Average number of tons for each mile of canal was 4,005 tons, and the a\erage 
number of tons for each mile of railway was 4,400 tons. 1 


1 J. S. Jeans, “Waterways and water transport/ 






80 LAKE ERIE AND OHIO RIVER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. 


The Suez Canal. 


The Suez Canal was opened for traffic in 1869, and the following table shows the 
length, dimensions (original and enlarged), and cost: 



Length. 

Depth. 

Surface 

width. 

Bottom 

width. 

Cost. 

Suez: 

Original dimensions.,. 

Enlarged dimensions. 

Miles. 

100 

100 

Feet. 

26.2 
27.9 1 

Feet. 

190 

328 

Feet. 

72.2 

112.9 

| $100,000,000 


In 1894 3,352 vessels passed through the canal, and the average duration of time for 
each vessel was 19.55 hours. 

The percentage of vessels drawing less than 23 feet declined from 68.93 per cent in 
1893 to 65.8 per cent in 1894, while vessels drawing more than 23 feet increased from 
31.07 per cent in 1893 to 34.2 per cent in 1894. 

The maximum draft allowed for vessels passing through the canal is 25 feet 7 
inches. 

The following table, taken from the Yearly Return of Shipping and Tonnage, shows 
the commerce of the canal for the years given: 


Year. 

1 Vessels. 

Gross ton¬ 
nage. 

Net tonnage. 

Transit re¬ 
ceipts. 

1 Mean net 
j tonnage 
per 
vessel. 

1870. 

486 

2,026 1 
3,389 , 
4,207 ! 
3,559 
3,341 ! 
3,352 

654 915 

zlQA AOQ 

Francs. 

5,159,327 

QQ O 1, \ A Qiy 

898 
1,509 
2,033 
2,067 
2,166 
2,292 
2,398 

1880. 

4 344 V| Q 

*±oo, ouy 

3 0^7 401 

1890. 

i, 0*1*1, OJ.i7 

9,749,129 
12,217,986 

10 SOfi 401 

o, UO/ , *iZJL 

A ftQO OOl 

oy, o4:U, 4o7 
66,984,000 
83,422,101 
74,452,436 
70,667,361 
73,776,827 

1891. 

o, oyu, uy*± 

ft AGft 777 

1892. 

O, 0^0, / / / 

7 71O HOC 

1893. 

-LVJ, OUU, *±U-L 

10 7^3 7Uft 

/ , i 1Z,UZO 

7,659,068 

ft OQQ 1 

1894. 

±U, /do, 

11 OftQ ft VI 


jLJL, lo o, go- 1 * 

o, Uoy, I/O 


United States Consul H. F. Merritt has forwarded a report to the State Department 
relating to the business of the Suez Canal in 1894, in which he says- 

of the company were $15,390,230.60, which compares 
with $14,764,906.80 in 1893, and if the revenue from the tramway from Port Said to 
Ismaha and the lands and water company are eliminated, it will be found that the 
actual receipts from the vessels that used the canal were $650,800 higher than in the 
previous year. Expenses were $65,958.60 smaller than in 1893. Taking the whole 


the gross revenue of $15,390,230.60, leaves $8,224,396.40.' Out of this sum the council 
$M°50 931 60 P Cmg °* |150 ’ 931:6 ° t0 the reserve > thus bringing it up to 

‘‘Thus there remained for distribution among the shareholders $8,073,464.60 and 
each share, m addition to the 5 per cent which is first paid, will receive for 1894 a 
dividend o $14.20. The gross yield on Suez Canal shares forTast yea“eqientl? 
comes to $19.20, or 18 per cent, or, after deducting the tax, to $18 "net.” ^ ^ 


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Library of Congress 




X 



Branch Bindery, 1902 




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